ORLANDO, Fla. — Attorneys for Orange County and the Supervisor of Elections went before a judge Wednesday morning as more issues arise in a spending scandal.
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Channel 9 has been following the claims that Glen Gilzean has misspent money without county permission.
The discussion Wednesday was regarding the lawsuit Gilzean filed against the county, where Gilzean is asking a judge to move his timeline up due to the lack of funds in the office’s bank account.
The county is arguing they do not need to rush because this issue is a self-inflicted wound.
“Bottom line is we’re in a predicament where we lack funding to not only meet payroll and employee expenses, but also vendor expenses,” Daniel Langley, an attorney for the Supervisor of Elections Office, said.
The back and forth between the two sides continues.
Read: Gilzean’s office overspent by more than $1 million, auditors say
As of Wednesday morning’s hearing, the judge denied the SOE’s motion to shorten the time for Orange County and the Comptroller to file a response to his complaint. The response time remains at 20 days.
Attorneys for both sides met Wednesday to discuss if a lawsuit filed by Gilzean meets the requirements to speed up a response from the county due to lack of funds in the office’s bank account.
“Let me be clear, this is a self-imposed dilemma,” Debra Nutcher, an attorney for the county, said. “The solution was to come to the board of county commissioners and say I need more money to pay payroll. Rather than to wait for the county to sue him.”
Commissioners voted Tuesday to release $250,000 directly to the payroll company to pay those employees. They also ordered Gilzean to cancel a million dollars in voter outreach grants he spent without permission so he can pay off bills stemming from the November election.
Read: Comptroller accuses elections supervisor of breaking state law, risking bank overdrafts
While Gilzean said he appreciates payroll being made over the holidays, he went on to say:
“Unfortunately, our office was put in this position due to lies told by the Mayor and an astonishing misunderstanding of elections by the Comptroller. We will continue to make our case in court and shine a light on the laws the Mayor and Comptroller broke in an effort by the two of them to score cheap political points using taxpayer dollars.”
The county’s response.
“Nobody wants the employees, except Mr. Gilzean who decided to donate money to other foundations, no one else wants the employees to go unpaid,” Nutcher said.
Read: Gilzean sues Orange County after vote to withhold funds
Gilzean’s last day as Supervisor of Elections is in January. Karen Castor Dentel will then be sworn in to replace him. She said if certain funds have not been returned to the county by the time she takes office, she will work with her legal counsel to seek the return of the funds.
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