County Clerk Dies "Unexpectedly" Five Days After BOS Vote of "No Confidence"
County Clerk Matthew Hoose was on the agenda at last Thursday’s Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting. He was supposed to appear to present a report to the Board, who had also been pestering him via email for information regarding financial practices at his office. According to the Supervisors, Hoose did not respond to their email inquiries.
So, it was rather a shock when he also failed to appear in person to present his report to the Board. This kind of thing is very unusual — if you’re on the agenda, you know about it, you prepare, and you show up.
Just five days later, on Tuesday, February 21st, sheriff’s deputies confirmed Hoose dead at a residence in the Town of Canandaigua. According to them, the death was unexpected, but not suspicious. You can read the full story here.
According to Supervisor Rich Russell (City of Canandaigua), the BOS had been asking questions of the County Clerk’s office concerning:
Cash handling and deposit procedures
Who had the ability to write checks
Who made and processed deposits in this person’s absence
The annual yearly revenue of the Clerk’s office over the past eight years
The total dollar amount handled by the Clerk’s office
What was being done to ensure timely payments and filings
But had not received responses.
These BOS questions come after it was revealed in October that “certain unauthorized and fraudulent checks [had been] drawn against an Ontario County checking account in a total amount of $100,350.” This had resulted in litigation between the County and Chase Bank, which ended in an undisclosed settlement, according to the October resolution. I’m not certain that these are related, although they may be.
Toward the end of the BOS meeting last Thursday, the Board went into executive session and emerged with a resolution of no confidence in the County Clerk. It reveals, among other things, that the Clerk’s office was significantly behind on payments and reports, Notary Public renewal forms, and that the County Clerk maintained five bank accounts that existed outside of the County’s rules, regulations, and fiduciary oversight. The full resolution is worth a read.
The Board of Supervisors will undertake a forensic audit of the “County Clerk’s financial operations” using an independent auditing firm and with assistance from the State Comptroller’s Office.
According to the Office of the Sheriff, Hoose’s death will be investigated. This could take as long as six months, according to a sheriff’s clerk. Until its conclusion, little new information will be forthcoming.
Matthew Hoose had served as County Clerk beginning in 2012.