A court appearance by attorneys who represent Starke County and Linda Belork was vacated yesterday. Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall will sign an order today establishing the procedure for selecting a nearby court to hear Belork’s case in which she disputes being dismissed from conducting her duties as the County Treasurer. Belork’s attorney had asked for a change of venue from Starke County.
The suit was brought against the County to determine if officials had the legal right to relieve her of the Treasurer’s duties.
Belork was relieved of her duties on August 11th after the County Commissioners announced that a State Board of Accounts audit had turned up $890,000 in financial discrepancies. Two employees were also relieved of their duties on the same day.
The office is currently being run by two Deputy Treasurers, Michelle Snowdon and Casey Clark.
Judge Hall’s order today will set the procedure by which one of seven counties will be made available and each side will have “striking” privileges before one is selected.
