County officials admit mistake in letter

Whitman County Commissioner Greg Partch and Auditor Eunice Coker erred in their Jan. 20 statement about the source of local funding for the county’s new elections office.

A letter written to voters and reported on in the Gazette said portions of this year’s $443,000 remodeling and the $105,571 roof on the building in 2009 were taken from real estate excise tax proceeds, which can only be spent on county infrastructure.

“No property tax or current expense dollars were used,” Coker and Partch stated in their letter.

The two county officials issued the letter to counter what they described as “wo...