Colorado Politics

Fremont County Clerk back at work after FBI investigation of office

The Fremont Clerk and Recorder has reappeared, according to reports from the Cañon City Daily Record.

Katie Barr was absent about a month after both the Fremont County commissioners and Cañon City Police Department announced the clerk was under investigation. It was also reported there were financial discrepancies coming from her office. Though, to what extent is still largely unknown.

The newspaper’s Sarah Matott reports:

The commissioners, according to a news release, reached out to the CPPD on Sept. 29 to investigate what appeared to be “irregular financial activity” stemming from Barr’s office.

According to the county’s news release about the investigation, Barr at that time “voluntarily removed herself from the operations of the Office of the Clerk and Recorder.” In accordance with Colorado law, Chief Deputy Clerk Dotty Gardunio stepped in to fulfill the duties of the elected office.

It’s so far unclear what those financial discrepancies are or how widespread they might be, but the Daily Record was able to confirm the police department reached out to the FBI for help on the case.

As for who else may be involved in the investigation and why Barr was gone for a month is under wraps. But county commissioners said they were adopting “additional financial safeguards.”

Elsewhere in Fremont County, citizens in Rockvale are gearing up for perhaps an entire recall of the city government. There, citizens say the town clerk was wrongly terminated after raising concerns about the bookkeeping on a truck-mudding event.

The recall election is slated for January, according to the Daily Record.

 


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