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Bourbon County Clerk Susan Walker announced her resignation during Monday night's County Commission meeting, ending what she described as 24 years of public service. Her resignation is effective Aug. 31.
"Today, I'm before you with a heavy heart, but a clear conscience, to announce that I will be stepping down from my position as county clerk effective Aug. 31," Walker said. "This decision has not been made lightly."
Walker told the Monitor she will be out of the office from Aug. 17 through Aug. 31. She has named Deputy Clerk Michael Hoyt as acting clerk until the Bourbon County Republican Party appoints a replacement.
Walker told commissioners that her staff will transfer from the clerk's office to another elected official's office at the end of this week. She told the Monitor she will announce Friday where they are going.
Walker said she made the decision a month ago after accepting another job.
"That is my mark as a definitive boundary to protect my personal well-being and prioritize God and my family over public office," she said.
Statement directed at chairman
Near the end of her remarks, Walker addressed Commission Chairman Samuel Tran directly.
"Chairman, I'm addressing you directly because your behavior toward me has crossed every reasonable line," she said. "You ignore me, you speak to me with open disrespect and you make sexist comments that demean my position and my work."
"On top of that, you make underhanded public statements designed to make people think I'm doing something criminal when I am not," Walker continued.
She said past and current elected officials had tried to set her up for a crime she did not commit, saying the attempts reflected incompetent leadership and a misunderstanding of how county processes work. She said she had left her office in order and in balance with the treasurer.
"I've served this community for two decades, and I will not sit quietly while you attempt to undermine my reputation and my work," Walker said.
"Misinformed citizens and two of you on this commission wanted to break me and ruin my reputation," she said. "My response is, thank you for freeing me."
Tran did not respond to the accusations during the meeting, moving to the next agenda item after Walker concluded.
Payroll problems and a fiscal warning
Walker told commissioners that payroll has produced repeated problems over the past eight months. She said she and the treasurer flagged the issues to the full commission each pay cycle, but the concerns were consistently overlooked.
The unresolved issues could leave employees with missing deposits to their health savings accounts, refunds owed for incorrect deductions or inaccurate KPERS retirement records and contributions, she said.
"These problems are not minor," Walker said. "They impact employees' financial well-being and the accuracy of required reporting."
She recommended that Baker Tilly handle all general ledger entries for payroll going forward, and said she would forward the reconciling items to each commissioner, Baker Tilly and the county's auditor.
Walker, who said she was hired in 2021 to address financial deficiencies that had led to repeated failed audits, noted the county's audits have been clean since 2022. She then issued a warning about the county's financial direction.
"As a citizen, I'm going to speak candidly. The future of Bourbon County rests in the hands of the current commission," she said. "If better fiscal decisions are not made, if discipline and foresight are not applied, the county will face serious trouble in the near future."
"Many decisions have been made from vindictiveness, and citizens will be the ones to ultimately pay for those decisions," she said.
Election issues
Walker said poll workers handled 90 different ballot styles in the Aug. 4 primary, roughly triple the usual workload. She said poll workers also completed two hours of training, “more than they’ve ever done in the past.” Because the county’s training materials had not been updated in more than 10 years, she said detailed new guides were created for each polling location.
Supervising judges filed four incident reports during the election, including two at Community Christian Church, where voters were mistakenly issued ballots from the wrong precinct.
At the Uniontown precinct, the number of voters checked in did not match the number of ballots cast, which Walker attributed to problems with the poll pads. Ballots were cast, but a voter likely did not receive voter credit, she said.
"There is no way for us to go back and audit that," Walker said.
Walker said she had requested updated poll pads that print receipts showing each voter's correct ballot and precinct, equipment she said would have eliminated a major source of human error. Based on incidents reported compared to ballots cast, she put the election's accuracy at 99.999%.
She urged residents who voted to check their voter credit on the state's VoterView site before the November general election, noting the state's records may take about a month to update.
Two lawsuits resolved
Walker dropped her lawsuit against County Attorney James Crux on July 28 in Bourbon County District Court under terms that bar her from filing it again. She agreed to pay $800 to the group of recall committee members that had asked the judge for permission to join the case and agreed not to challenge the petition seeking her recall.
In exchange, the group withdrew its motion to intervene and waived its claims against her for attorney's fees.
Separately, a federal judge closed the lawsuit filed by former county IT director Shane Walker, Susan Walker's husband, against the County Commission on Aug. 3 after both sides said they had reached a settlement.
His lawsuit accused county officials of retaliation, discrimination and violations of his rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. The two sides have until Sept. 3 to file paperwork formally ending the case; if they miss that deadline, the case will be dismissed permanently.
Closing remarks
Walker challenged critics who post about county government but do not volunteer, saying attacks on her also strike the election workers and her staff.
"To those keyboard warriors, I challenge you to volunteer at the next general election in November," she said. "Step up and be a part of the work, not just the noise."
She thanked the employees and residents who supported her family, her staff and herself.
"I will miss you and the career I deeply treasured," she said.
Hoyt finished Monday's meeting as acting clerk.
Walker’s resignation is the second by a county department head in seven days. County Appraiser Matt Quick informed commissioners by email last Monday that his final day will be Aug. 18.
