Starke County officials have settled the lawsuit filed by a former elected official. Linda Belork was exonerated of wrongdoing in 2012 after the Starke County Commissioners removed her from office in August of 2011. Continue reading
Property Tax Payments Due Nov. 10
With the Starke County Treasurer’s Office once again open and ready to receive payments, Treasurer Linda Belork wants to remind Starke County residents that tax payments are due in just over a week.
Though there was some confusion in the treasurer’s office in October when the Starke County Commissioners closed the office after Belork was reinstated to her position, Belork explained that tax payments have been coming in at a steady pace. She said a lot of people have been calling the office to ensure they are, in fact, open, and others have resorted to using the outside night drop as well, allowing taxpayers to make payments on the weekend and after hours.
Jasper Circuit Court Hearing Continued
The court hearing scheduled for today in Jasper Circuit Court has been continued.
The Starke County Commissioners, the county’s legal counsel, plus Linda Belork and her legal counsel were ordered to appear today in Jasper Circuit Court at 3:00 p.m., but the hearing was continued. A rescheduled date has not been determined.
Judge John Potter has ordered the court hearing to hear the reasoning why the Starke County Commissioners closed the Starke County Treasurer’s Office thus nullifying his order reinstating Treasurer Linda Belork back into the office.
Starke County Treasurer’s Office Reopens; Court Hearing Scheduled
By order of the Jasper Circuit Court Judge John Potter, a telephonic case management conference was held Wednesday, October 24 concerning Judge Potter’s ruling regarding the reinstatement of Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork.
Starke County Attorney Martin Lucas and Belork’s counsel, Ethan Lowe, were part of the hearing where the Court found that disobedience of process or order, and interference with execution of process or order was conducted when the Starke County Commissioners met and voted to close the Office of the Starke County Treasurer, thus nullifying the Judge’s order to reinstate Belork to the office.
Linda Belork Expected to Resume Treasurer Duties Today
Jasper Circuit Court Judge John Potter on Thursday ordered that Linda Belork be reinstated immediately to her position as Starke County Treasurer. According to the order, Belork was wrongfully removed from office after alleged discrepancies were found in the treasurer’s accounts. The judge found that it was an accounting error of the auditor.
Decision Reached in Belork Case; Reinstated as Treasurer
A decision has finally been reached in the case against Linda Belork, former Starke County treasurer. The attorney for the Starke County Commissioners, Martin Lucas, told Jasper Circuit Court Judge John Potter that the commissioners were faced with a serious problem when the funds were reportedly misappropriated in the treasurer’s office according to the State Board of Accounts. He said the commissioners acted according to statute in removing her from office and filing suit against her bond.
Case Against Former Starke County Treasurer Crawling Along
The case against former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork is shambling along in Jasper Circuit Court. The Indiana Supreme Court extended Judge John Potter’s decision deadline to Oct. 22, allowing him 13 more days to decide on the case.
Judge Potter has yet to make his decision regarding the case between Belork and the Starke County Commissioners, who claim Belork misappropriated $900,000 during her time as treasurer. The attorney for the Starke County Commissioners and the attorney for Linda Belork and Ohio Casualty appeared before the judge on June 6 and presented evidence supporting their cases.
Judge Still Undecided In Case Between Belork, Starke Commissioners
Jasper Circuit Court Judge John Potter has yet to make his decision regarding the case between former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork and the Starke County Commissioners. The attorney for the Starke County Commissioners and the attorney for Linda Belork and Ohio Casualty appeared before the judge on June 6 and presented evidence supporting their cases.
The attorney for the commissioners, Martin Lucas, told the judge that the commissioners were faced with a serious problem: $900,000 was reportedly misappropriated in the treasurer’s office, according to the State Board of Accounts. He said the commissioners acted according to statute in removing her from office and filing suit against her bond.
Jasper Circuit Court Judge Hears Misappropriation Case; No Decision Yet
The attorney for the Starke County Commissioners, as well as the attorney for Linda Belork and Ohio Casualty, appeared before Judge John Potter in Jasper Circuit Court yesterday. Attorney Martin Lucas, representing the commissioners, and Ethan Lowe, representing Linda Belork and Ohio Casualty, presented evidence supporting their case to the Judge. Both attorneys were given 30 minutes and were occasionally interrupted by the judge with questions.
Lucas painted the picture of a board of commissioners faced with a report from the State Board of Accounts stating that $900,000 was misappropriated in the treasurer’s office, and the commissioners acted according to statute by removing her from office and filing suit against her bond. He also stated that Belork was consistently late with her monthly 47-TR forms.
“When she finally delivered them to the commissioners, they were not useful because the numbers didn’t add up,” Lucas said.
Belork, Starke Commissioners To Appear In Jasper Circuit Court Wednesday
The Starke County Commissioners and Linda Belork will be back in Jasper Circuit Court Wednesday June 6 at 9 a.m. Judge John Potter will hear oral arguments in the case that involves Belork’s removal from the treasurer’s office in August of last year. At the time it was announced that there was a discrepancy in funds in the office. Although the discrepancy was ultimately cleared up, Belork was never returned to the office as treasurer.
The key issue in the case in Rensselaer is whether the commissioners acted correctly under statute in removing Belork from office.
Affidavits of people with knowledge of the case will be presented.
It’s not known whether Judge Potter will render an opinion Wednesday or if he will take the information received under advisement and give his opinion at a later date.
May Primary Ends In The Election Of Several New Faces
The polls are closed and the votes have been totaled. The May Primary Election didn’t have the voter turnout that some may have desired, but the voters made their decisions and their ballots have been cast.
In Starke County, Daniel Bridegroom will have the Democratic nomination for Starke County Commissioner in District Three, having received 801 votes over Joseph Woods’ 787. For Starke County Treasurer, Linda L. Belork fell just short of Kasey “Bula” Clark, who earned 842 votes to Belork’s 760. Interestingly enough, the candidate to receive the most votes out of any Starke County race was Kathy Norem, who raked in 1508 votes– regardless of the fact that she was unopposed.
Linda Belork Files for Starke County Treasurer
A race has developed in the Democrat Primary in Starke County. Current Treasurer, Linda Belork, and Interim Treasurer Kasey Clark have both filed for the May 8th election.
Judy Benninghoff filed this week for a Democrat Council at Large seat and Dan Bridegroom filed for District 3 Commissioner on the Democrat ticket. Continue reading
Judge Lifts Temporary Restraining Order Against Linda Belork
The restraining order against former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork was removed Wednesday in Jasper Circuit Court after attorney Martin Lucas requested it. Lucas told Judge John Potter that the purpose of the temporary restraining order in the first place was only to prevent any destruction or alteration of public records in the immediate aftermath of the executive order to remove her from the Treasurer’s office.
Belork’s attorney, Ethan Lowe, did not object and the 15 minute court appearance ended. Although a discrepancy of thousands of dollars was initially reported, all funds were eventually accounted for.
Testimony to be Heard Today Concerning Restraining Order Against Linda Belork
On August 11th of last year, Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork was served a restraining order removing her from conducting her duties as treasurer of the county. The restraining order was issued after the three county commissioners voted to remove her from office following the announcement to the public that there were irregularities in some 2009 accounts.
Judge Rules in Linda Belork Case
Jasper County Circuit Court Judge John Potter ruled yesterday in favor of the Starke County Commissioners in a suit involving former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork.
The case involved Belork’s removal from office on August 13th after a state audit turned up financial discrepancies. Belork’s attorney, Ethan Lowe, had argued that the Commissioners did not have the right to remove Belork from office. He argued that only the state’s Attorney General had the right to do so.
No Decision Yet in Linda Belork Court Case
Jasper County Circuit Court Judge John Potter has not yet made a decision in the matter between former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork and the Starke County Commissioners.
The Commissioners removed Belork from the office of Treasurer on August 13th after a state audit found financial discrepancies. The money has been accounted for, but a Temporary Restraining Order placed against Belork by the Commissioners is still in effect and prohibits Belork from returning to office.
Linda Belork’s Case Heard in Jasper Court
Jasper County Circuit Court Judge John Potter heard arguments yesterday in a hearing where is was requested that a Temporary Restraining Order be removed to allow Linda Belork to resume her duties as the Starke County Treasurer.
That request was being opposed by the Starke County Commissioners.
In the hearing yesterday, Belork’s attorney, Ethan Lowe, argued that only the State’s Attorney General could remove an elected official from office. He said, “The county commissioners can only “piggy back” on actions brought by the Attorney General’s office. The Attorney General’s office has to initiate civil proceedings with the county prosecutor.”
Linda Belork’s Hearing is Today in Jasper County
A hearing will be held in Jasper County today on Linda Belork’s request to have a court-imposed Temporary Restraining Order removed allowing her to return to her duties as the Starke County Treasurer. Belork has been out of the office since August 13th after being removed by the County Commissioners following the issuance of a State Audit showing thousands of dollars in discrepancies.
The money has been found, but Belork has been blocked by the order from returning to office. Objecting to her return are the Starke County Commissioners. Judge John Potter will be seeking pertinent information from Belork’s attorney, Ethan Lowe, and Martin Lucas, attorney for the commissioners, during today’s hearing.
Starke County Commissioners Continue to Block Linda Belork’s Return to Office
Potter set the date yesterday in Jasper County Court. The suit has been venued to Jasper County from Starke County after Judge Kim Hall recused himself from hearing the case.
Although bookkeeping errors in the treasurer’s office were eventually identified, the commissioners have continued to block her resumption of duties. Last week an interim treasurer, Kasey Clark, was selected by the Democrat County Precinct Committee. On Monday, the commissioners affirmed that Clark would receive full treasurer’s pay as long as she is in charge of the office.
If Belork is eventually successful in the Jasper County suit, Clark will be required to step down.
Starke County Linda Belork Seeking Reinstatement
The case stems from the removal of Belork as the treasurer of Starke County in August. She was dismissed by the commissioners when a State Board of Accounts audit turned up discrepancies of several thousand dollars in the office. Since that time, all the money has been accounted for and the defendant is seeking to have the court reinstate her back into the office. Today’s appearance by the lawyers is set for 10:30 a.m. before Judge John D. Potter. This is only a status conference with no testimony being heard.
Last week the Starke County Democrat Party named Kasey Clark as the Interim Treasurer of the county following Belork’s removal from office.
