Local Republican leaders are accusing the Story County auditor of making several thousands of dollars worth of mistakes. Democrat Judy Emmons, Story County auditor, was asked by James Kurtenbach, chairman of the Republicans of Story County, to either resign or take a leave of absence after he discovered she may have made some costly mistakes, he said. Emmons, who is in her second term as Story County auditor, is running for re-election against Republican Mary Mosiman, a 1999 ISU graduate in accounting. Kurtenbach said some of the mistakes Emmons made include: incorrectly assessing railroad property in Nevada, which resulted in a $40,000 to $50,000 loss in revenue. incorrectly reporting tax-assessment totals in the Colo-Nesco School District, which eliminated a teaching position for the 2000-2001 school year. It also caused the district to lose $20,000 of matching state funds. failing to file a notice of bid for a Story County bond issuance, which delayed the construction of jail facilities. incorrectly reporting boundary lines for House District 61. This made candidate Steve Halloran’s property sit outside the district boundaries, and he was forced to move within the boundaries. “What I’m asking for is more communication,” Kurtenbach said. “If [the county auditor and the Board of Supervisors] make mistakes, then they need to address those mistakes.” Kurtenbach also accused Emmons of illegally redrawing precinct lines in the annexed Somerset and Bloomington Heights subdivisions in Ames. “I did not redistrict anything,” Emmons said, adding she didn’t know about the error until Halloran brought it to her attention. “There wasn’t any reason for me to question those because I trusted [annexation and district lines] were being done properly.” Emmons said the mistakes reported by Kurtenbach have been fixed, the public has been sufficiently informed of the activities of the auditor’s office, and Kurtenbach’s Sept. 10 letter was “purely partisan politics.” “There have been some problems that I have discovered this year, and I have taken steps to solve the problems and make sure that they don’t happen again by increasing awareness of rules around the office,” Emmons said. Kurtenbach said the mistakes can be blamed on a failed system of checks and balances within the auditor’s office and the Story County Board of Supervisors. As for using the letter as political propaganda, Kurtenbach said it is necessary for opponents to catch violations in order to have a democratic society. “It’s not purely partisan,” Kurtenbach said. “The two parties have an obligation to be a watchdog for the public. I don’t think we have to apologize for watching each other; I think that’s our job.” Mosiman said there are valid concerns about Emmons. “She has a history of mistakes that has been brought to our attention,” she said. “I see nothing wrong with reporting it.” Kurtenbach said he will not pursue the next step of the resignation process – obtaining five citizens’ signatures on a letter requesting a hearing of removal – because his intent was simply to generate public awareness of the mistakes that were being made. “Hopefully by making these issues public, it will make the next Story County auditor a better auditor,” he said.