The following information was provided to Current in Carmel via a press release from city of Carmel.
The City of Carmel has filed a lawsuit against Carmel Clerk Treasurer, Diana Cordray, requesting that she perform certain duties resulting from her public office. The City has filed the Action of Mandamus as the result of the Clerk Treasurer’s office refusing to process a Purchase Order from the Street Department for the removal of snow from city sidewalks from the Motor Vehicle Highway Fund (MVH Fund).
The morning of Nov. 21, Hamilton County Superior Court 1 Judge Steven Nation accepted the City of Carmel’s Action of Mandamus against Carmel Clerk Treasurer Diana Cordray. An Emergency Hearing on the Action has been set for Dec.3 at 9 a.m. in Hamilton County Superior Court 1.
It is the responsibility of the Clerk Treasurer’s office to ensure funds are available in a particular line item and, if those funds are available, to approve the Purchase Order and place the corresponding contract for those services on the Board of Public Works agenda for contract approval. Without approval of the Purchase Order, the snow removal contract cannot be added to the Board of Public Works agenda for approval.
The City has asked the court to grant this Action of Mandamus due to the season and the likelihood of snow storms predicted for central Indiana as a matter of public health and safety for the City of Carmel. The City believes it is imperative to have the snow removal contracts in place before the arrival of heavy snow.
The City Street Department followed this same procedure in 2013 and the Purchase Order was processed by the Clerk Treasurer’s office without any problem. However, when the same procedure was followed this year, the Clerk Treasurer’s Office refused to process the Purchase Order citing improper use of MVH funds.
After the Purchase Order was rejected, the City requested clarification from the Indiana State Board of Accounts, which responded in part that “[I]t’s our audit position that monies accounted for in the MVH Fund be used for the purposes outlined in IC 8-14-1-5. This would include, as per AG opinion #64, 1965, removal of snow from sidewalks [.]”
