“When he violates his employee union contract, that’s when they file the grievances,” she said.
About 80 grievances have been filed in three years, which Burchett said cost taxpayers $800,000.
Kelly, a Democrat, already had his time to answer the question, but spoke up to challenge that information he said was untrue.
“I have to respond, that’s an absolute total fabricated lie,” Kelly said.
He has previously told the Springfield News-Sun that while 80 grievances have been filed, many are frivolous and over small matters like scheduling changes, and haven’t cost taxpayers nearly that much money.
The exchange came during the Leadership Clark County political forum luncheon on Thursday. The forum hosted many of the candidates running for public office locally, including races for two county commissioner spots, Springfield’s income proposed tax increase and the sheriff’s race.
The News-Sun spoke with Burchett after the event and asked her to detail the $800,000 cost. A public records request was filed with the sheriff’s office, she said, and 80 grievance were found in the last three years. She then said Kelly said during a town hall that each grievance costs the county $10,000.
Her campaign doesn’t have a public record that says how much grievance filings cost, but she said they used math and information from the sheriff and the office to make that determination.
“The statement that she made about the $800,000 is an absolute lie and false,” Kelly said after the debate. “I want to see the documents. It is not true.”
He condemned Burchett’s statements.
“She took things out of context,” Kelly said. “I never said that. That is not the truth. She can’t produce the documents. It is a false statement.”
Grievances that reach arbitration can cost up to $10,000, Kelly said, but many are resolved before any costs are incurred.
The exchange between law enforcement veterans wasn’t the only contentious part of the debate.
Republican Clark County Commission candidate Melanie Flax Wilt questioned the record of her opponent, Democrat Roger Tackett, a former longtime commissioner.
“In 2010, his last year in office, unemployment was at 12.9 percent,” Flax Wilt said. “Almost 13 percent of our county was unemployed. Since he’s been gone, it is down to 4.7 percent unemployment today. We can’t go back.”
Flax Witt also said poverty levels were high during Tackett’s time in office and Tackett voted to raise taxes six times.
Tackett said he worked hard as a commissioner and reminded the crowd of the Great Recession the country faced at that time.
“(I did not vote for a tax increase) while I was a commissioner that was not voted on by each and every commissioner, so for her to try to blame me for all the taxes is not really the truth or the reality,” Tackett said.
Clark County Clerk of Courts Ron Vincent, a Democrat, didn’t attend. His Republican opponent, Melissa Tuttle, said she would bring the clerk’s office into the digital age.
“We need to secure our records and get them online,” Tuttle said. “Last summer for three months the website was down. We can’t operate with this system.”
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