Delaware County Treasurer Donald Rankey has filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court asking for a Writ of Mandamus against the county and demanding an outside counsel to represent him in a dispute with the Delaware County Board of Commissioners.
Rankey filed the complaint for Writ of Mandamus on Nov. 5. A Writ of Mandamus is court order that commands a government entity or official to perform an act that it is required by law to perform as part of its official duties.
The filing centers on a legal dispute between Rankey and the Delaware County Investment Advisory Committee, a body that consists of Rankey and Delaware County commissioners Jeff Benton and Barb Lewis.
According to Rankey's filing, at the committee's May 11, 2023 meeting, Benton offered an amendment to the county's investment policy that Rankey claims "went beyond simply establishing policy regarding investments and, instead, would impose a procedural requirement upon (Rankey)... to submit for unanimous approval by the (committee) all investments by the Treasurer of the inactive moneys of the County in the securities of other political subdivisions."
The filing states a dispute arose between Rankey and the two commissioners on the committee, which came to a head a year later at a special meeting of the committee on May 20. Rankey writes that during the special meeting, Benton and Lewis requested a formal opinion from the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office as to whether or not the committee had the legal authority to adopt the policy.
Michael P. Cavanaugh, an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Prosecutor's Office, filed a one-and-a-half page letter on June 5 stating the policy was legal and enforceable. On Sept. 16, the commissioners adopted Resolution No. 24-759 and declared that Rankey had "failed to invest the inactive moneys of the county as provided by law."
Rankey's filing argues that the county treating the Prosecutor's Office as the "final end-all-be-all on the legality and enforeability of the policy" is improper and "hands to the executive branch (the Prosecutor's Office) the judicial authority to say what the law is."
Rankey sent an email to County Prosecutor Melissa Schiffel on Sept. 18 declaring his intention to oppose Resolution 24-759 and said it is a conflict of interest of Schiffel to represent Benton, Lewis and Rankey during the dispute.
"Prosecutor Schiffel has a professional conflict of interest in simultaneously representing clients with adverse interest," Rankey's filing claims.
On Oct. 16, Rankey delivered a formal demand to Schiffel and the Board of Commissioners requesting that outside counsel be appointed to represent him in the dispute.
The filing claims that as of Nov. 5, they have not responded to the demand.
"In light of such conflicts of interests, Prosecutor Schiffel and the Delaware County Board of Commissioners have the clear legal duty to ensure and provide legal representation to Treasurer Rankey as a county official," Rankey's filing asserts.
The complaint requests the Ohio Supreme Court issue a Writ of Mandamus, compelling Schiffel and the commissioners to appoint outside counsel to represent Rankey.
The county has not yet filed a response with the court, but Jane Hawes, the director of communications for the commissioners, issued a statement on Friday stating the commissioners are aware of the complaint.
"The policy in question was adopted in May 2023, and Mr. Rankey, as a member of the committee, participated in the discussion regarding the policy, moved to adopt the policy, voted in favor of the policy, and signed a copy of the policy," the statement reads. "Since that time, Mr. Rankey has, on multiple occasions, failed to follow the straightforward procedure outlined in the policy and now seeks, during the remaining 10 months of his tenure in office, to force Delaware County to spend taxpayer dollars to support his attempt to evade the protections the policy provides for taxpayers' funds. To be clear, the current treasurer's filing will only lead to a waste of taxpayer dollars and demonstrates his continued prioritization of personal pride over sound public policy. A more appropriate course would be for the current treasurer to dismiss this action and simply follow the policy he voted to adopt as a member of the Investment Advisory Committee."