OurWeek The Grant County Record in Grant County · County Commissioners, special session, September 2, 2026 · 2026-09-02 · full transcript https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHvhklGvJMg Exported Sun, 13 Sep 2026 22:09:47 GMT Source: Auto-generated captions, lightly cleaned. The captions render the commissioner surname as Polling; county records spell it Poling. These transcripts are machine-generated. They garble proper nouns badly — company and personal names especially. Watch the recording before repeating any name, number, or quotation. The video is the record. ============================================================================== Indexed at https://ourweek.in/grant-county/reports/grant-county-record 0:00 Yeah. Heat. 0:11 Come on. 0:41 Heat. Heat. 1:05 Heat. Heat. 1:15 Heat. 1:26 Heat. Heat. Heat. 1:57 down. 2:13 Yes. 2:29 Okay. 2:33 Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming. Uh this uh Grant County Commissioner special session meeting is officially uh in order. Today is 2:41 September 2nd, 2026. All three commissioners are present. Uh if you will join me in standing, I will lead us 2:49 in prayer and Commissioner Oliver will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. 2:57 Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this beautiful day. Thank you for the sun and the warm weather. And I ask 3:03 that you continue to bless each and every person with the sound of my voice and in this room be with us today and go 3:10 with us when we leave here. keep us safe and healthy and protect us. We'll give you all the praise in Jesus name. Amen. 3:28 for one nation under God, indivisible. 3:39 Thank you everyone. The floor is yours. 3:47 Thank you, Mr. President. 3:50 The final invest internal investigation report regarding Commissioner Chuck Polling was delivered to the commissioners during the executive 3:58 session of the commissioners earlier this morning. 4:03 Before a summary of the report is read, I would ask commissioners for a motion to make this final report available for public disclosure and dissemination. 4:16 So move. 4:18 We have a motion from Commissioner Oliver. I will second that motion. All in favor signify by saying I. 4:26 I. I. I'll abstain. This is about me. Commissioner Polling abstains. 4:32 Thank you, Commissioners. Uh, with me today, I have additional members of the legal team for this investigation. To my 4:39 left here is Gary Johnson, managing partner of the law firm Beckman Lawson in Fort Wayne and the lead investigating 4:46 attorney on this matter. Also to my left is Martha Lamar, managing chief partner of the law firm Blee in Fort Wayne and 4:54 the investigating and interviewing attorney on this matter. Mrs. Lambert will read into the record a substantial 5:02 port of the investigation report in a moment. In the interest of time, the entire report will not be read, but it 5:08 will be made available in full on the county website directly after this meeting along with supporting evidence, 5:16 which I encourage all to review. The background and descriptive narratives of sections 1 through 4 of the report will 5:24 be read by Mrs. Lam. This will take approximately 45 minutes, so please be patient as you listen. After Mrs. 5:32 Lamar's reading, Mr. Johnson will provide an explanation and recommendation on actions for the commissioners to take in light of the report. 5:41 Mrs. please proceed. 5:44 Thank you, Mr. Ormsby. Um background. 5:49 This investigation began the last week of July of 2026 after County Human Resources notified 5:57 county legal of complaints and concerns raised by multiple county employees and elected officials about Commissioner Polling's conduct towards them recently and dating back to the last few years. 6:09 These complaints included, but were not limited to, commissioner polling, offering an employee a raise if she voted for as candidate for commissioner, 6:18 screaming at employees, threatening them with job loss, invading their personal space while yelling at them, jabbing his finger in their face and chest, and 6:26 getting so close to them they felt he might physically harm them. On at least two occasions, employees complain that Commissioner Polling physically touched 6:34 them by placing his arm around their shoulders and moving them into an enclosed environment away from cameras. 6:41 Because this conduct spanned several months and multiple incidences, it was determined that an outside investigation should be conducted to ascertain the 6:49 credibility, breadth, and scope of the concerns expressed. 6:54 Consequently, Commissioners Shane Middlesworth and Ron Stewart directed the county legal department to have this investigation conducted. 7:01 As the investigation proceeded, it led to additional allegations of other serious civil and criminal violations by polling of both federal and state laws. 7:12 Attorney Gary Johnson had been previously appro approved by the commissioners as legal counsel for employment related concerns. Because the 7:20 complaints appeared initially to involve only employment matters, Johnson was appointed lead investigator in order to protect attorney client privilege in 7:28 connection with legal advice that Johnson would provide. Johnson retained attorney Martha Lamur, myself to conduct the factual and legal investigation. 7:36 County Attorney Martin Harker has a conflict of interest due to past representation of polling which prohibited his involvement under the rules of ethics governing attorneys. 7:46 Accordingly, consulting county attorney Edward Ormsby serves as the attorney for the county on this investigation and matters related there too. This report 7:55 summarizes witness interviews from 15 witnesses and supporting documentation concerning allegations involving Commissioner Chuck Polling. 8:04 On August 23rd, 2026, at 8:39 p.m., Attorney Orsby spoke with Polling via telephone to outline the preliminary 8:12 findings and ask for Polling's responses. During that 14-minute teleconference, Commissioner Polling consistently cursed, yelled, and cut off 8:20 Mr. Ormsby, said he knew who the witnesses were, said that they would all be gone, said, "Get ready for hell." And then hung up. 8:28 This report distinguishes firsthand testimony from information relayed by others and identifies corroborating testimony, documents, recordings, 8:37 meeting records, and other evidence where appropriate. While the investigation began as an HR related one, the interviews and supporting 8:45 evidence reviewed revealed alleged criminal misconduct by polling in seven broad categories. Intimidation of and threats towards county employees and 8:53 elected officials, illegal surveillance, and wiretapping. Official and financial misconduct and conflicts of interest, 9:02 vote buying, bribery and other election related misconduct, retaliation or threatened retaliation, human resources related concerns related 9:10 to ADA FMLA privacy and confidentiality and other issues including abuse of power, nepotism and preferential hiring 9:18 or influence. Section 8 of this report states the federal and state statutes that are implicated. 9:25 Section one, intimidation and threats by polling. Commissioner Polling's criminal history is known to county employees. 9:33 Witnesses stated that Polling's alleged criminal history and prior violent or threatening conduct were known and discussed among county employees and contributed to fear in the workplace. 9:43 Former treasurer Tiffany Griffith reported that her father had arrested polling years earlier and that polling allegedly threatened to bomb the family 9:50 home and kill the family, prompting 24/7 guard coverage and homeland security involvement. This was a reason why Griffith stepped down as treasurer after 9:58 the primary. She did not want to work with Commissioner Polling. At least two interviewees referenced Polling headbutting a former health department 10:06 employee before Polling held any office, breaking his nose. Newspaper archives identified that in 2005, Poland was 10:14 sentenced to 180day suspended sentence for class B misdemeanor battery following him being charged with a count of class D felony intimidation and class 10:23 A misdemeanor battery. The Chronicle Tribune at the time reported a plea deal on February 27th, 2005, indicating that 10:31 polling battered a child. Additional clippings show arrests for invasion of privacy, intimidation, and battery, with the most recent being two separate 10:39 invasion of privacy arrests occurring in 2011. 10:43 Witnesses further understood that although polling had obtained expungement of his prior criminal history record, the underlying history 10:50 discussed among employees included alleged domestic violence involving his former wife, who was a judge. More than one witness indicated that he had put 10:58 her in the hospital. Newspaper and court records also show polling was found to engaged to have engaged in perjury in another person's criminal trial in federal court in 1998. 11:09 Intimidation of county employees and elected officials. Multiple witnesses described Commissioner Polling as loud, 11:16 aggressive, intrusive, and intimidating in his workplace interactions. 11:21 County Administrator Beth Winters described incidents in which polling told her to shut your mouth, stood within inches of her face in a conference room for approximately 40 to 11:30 45 minutes and made her fear for her safety. HR coordinator Felicity Miller cooperated observing polling placement placed his arm around Winters and guide 11:38 her into the conference room and stated that polling lacked personal space boundaries, frequently stood close to employees and whispered in ears when 11:46 avoiding camera coverage. Kathy Foy indicated that polling came underneath her umbrella to confront her about something as she was on break. Video 11:55 confirms this. Emily Barnes stated similarly, "Polling got down in my ear while offering her a raise and urging 12:02 her to vote for candidate Ed Hartman, leaving her uncomfortable and feeling unable to back away." Health Department Administrator Tara Street's testimony 12:11 adds another specific intimidation incident from February 2025. 12:15 Street described polling accosting her just outside the HR office arising from a health department matter involving a sewage or septic complaint and 12:23 commissioner polling's plumbing business involvement in related drain work. 12:28 According to Street Polling became angry, confronted her in close physical proximity, pointed at her near her chest, and yelled directives at her in a 12:37 manner that caused her to be concerned for her safety. Former HR manager Justin Seat corroborated the occurrence in the tone of the encounter, confirming that 12:45 polling was screaming at the top of his lungs at Street and swearing, "You can't me." Beth Winters also 12:52 referenced this episode in her report, describing polling as getting very, very close to Street's face, yelling, pointing very close to her and saying 13:01 words to the effect of, "You're going to do this and you can't do this." County Clerk Pam Harris's allegations and another reported intimidation incident involving Commissioner Polling. 13:11 Harris described a July 1st, 2025 encounter in which Polling yelled at her, pointed his finger at her in close proximity, and came so close to her 13:20 physically that she raised her fist up to her chest as a protective defensive gesture. The incident escalated to the point that Polling was escorted from the 13:29 building. Video evidence from July 1st, 2025 corroborates that polling was escorted from the building by deputies corroborating the existence of a serious 13:37 workplace confrontation involving Harrison Polling. Nine contemporaneous witness statements were collected in corroborating this incident. According 13:45 to John Kaufman, chief investigator of the Grant County Prosecutor's Office, one of the individuals polling threatened with job loss was Sheriff 13:52 Deputy Brooks. Polling got up close to Deputy Brooks and stated, "You see this badge? I'm a commissioner. This is my building. Deputy Brooks pointed at his 14:01 own bra badge and stated, "This is my badge." Video evidence from July 1st, 2025 corroborates this exchange, showing polling right up in the deputy's face and the deputy tapping his own badge. 14:12 One eyewitness pointed out to polling in this incident that his approach to people was what was wrong. In response, Polling demanded her name. She stated 14:20 she did not need to give it. His response was, "We'll see about that." Gracie Johnson's allegations provide another example of alleged physical 14:28 touching and proximity and coercive pressure in the workplace. Johnson reported that after Treasurer April and Commissioner Polling spoke privately, 14:37 Polling told Johnson they needed to have a talk, put his arm around her, poking her by the shoulders, and led her into the treasurer's office breakroom, away 14:46 from cameras and without another person present. Johnson alleged that polling sat near her and attempted to discourage her from transferring to the clerk's 14:53 office by telling her the position was not approved, suggesting the incoming clerk might not keep her and warning that if she did not work out her notice, she might not be rehired by the county. 15:05 Johnson described the interaction as intimidating in an attempt to scare her into changing her mind about leaving the treasurer's office. Delaney Zack corroborated the timing through 15:14 contemporaneous text messages from Johnson and Felicity Miller corroborated that Johnson later came to HR and reported the incident. Aubrey Fuller's 15:22 report to Justin Sedoff adds a workplace safety concern involving firearms. 15:26 According to the testimony, Fuller reported that on about January 30th, 2025, she encountered Poland while getting off 15:35 on an elevator and that Polling allegedly opened and flashed his coat and stated he almost pulled his gun on her. Fuller reported she did not see a 15:43 gun, but believed the statement and gesture were intimidating and threatening, and she reported resulting fear, anxiety, and concern about retaliation. 15:50 Witnesses further connected this incident to later concerns about a commissioner only ordinance or policy allowing commissioners to carry firearms 15:58 in county buildings. Harris, Winters, Zack, and others raised concern that authorizing commissioners to carry weapons did not address employee safety 16:06 concerns and instead heightened fear because polling was already viewed by some employees as volatile and intimidating person with a past criminal record for violence. 16:16 Witnesses also reported occurrences against elected officials during public meetings. At an election board meeting in 2024, during a disagreement or tense 16:25 exchange, polling asked the chair of the election board to go outside with him, which witnesses understood as an intimidating or confrontational 16:32 statement in the context of an official meeting. The allegations corroborated through the election board video recordings of February 27th, 2024. 16:41 Marcus Elliott, the IT manager, also corroborated the election board confrontation and described polling's conduct as unusually combative. Elliot 16:49 stated that because it assists with WebEx reportings, he had watched certain meetings from the IT office, including an election related meeting in 2024 16:57 where polling argued with an election board participant and acted as if the exchange could become physical. Elliot recalled at the other participants 17:04 saying words to the effect that he could not fight because he had a bad leg, apparently attempting to diffuse the situation. 17:11 During a May 19th, 2025 commissioner meeting p Commissioner Polling loudly interrupted and talked over Port Baiff Megan Glickfield as she attempted to 17:19 point out the condition of the courthouse building to the commissioners at a public comment portion of the meeting. This resulted in Glickfield being cut off by time despite another 17:28 speaker offering to seed her allotted time so Glickfield Glickfield could finish. Polling's combative conduct is corroborated by the official recording 17:36 of the meeting as well as the Chronicle Tribune's audio recording of the missing few minutes of the official recording. 17:43 Elliot further stated that Polling's manner with him was not unusually overtly rude, but that polling often demanded immediate action and created a sense that employees who disregard him 17:51 or disagreed with him could face consequences. 17:55 Elliot described an incident in which polling came to the IT office after Elliot obtained a high quote for deer technology upgrades and told Elliot in 18:03 substance that the council was very unhappy with him and wanted his head. 18:07 Even though Elliott had not received any such feedback from council members and understood the council did not have authority to terminate it. Elliot also 18:15 described polling entering behind Elliot's desk and speaking from close physical proximity and stated that polling sometimes brought u Mike 18:22 Simmonson for maintenance when confronting him, which Elliot found odd and potentially purposeful. Multiple witnesses noted that while polling has 18:30 yelled and threatened at men, he tends to treat women particularly harshly compared to men. Polling told Winters to 18:38 shut her mouth and that she's not the boss. Two employees polling the two employees polling placed his hands on were women. Polling's fingerpointed and 18:47 faces happened towards women. His criminal history, particularly that involving his former wife, place women in particularized fear of potential 18:54 violence from polling. Intimidation by surrogates or others. Witnesses described intimidation allegedly carried 19:01 out through or amplified by others aligned with polling. Winters and media that Winters and Miller identified Ed Bounds, a podcaster and social media 19:09 news figure, as polling's ally whose platform allegedly attacked female county employees and disclosed 19:16 confidential information. Winter stated that Bounds publicly named Winters, Terra Street, and Kathy Foy and stated he was not going to back to prison and 19:24 would quote take some people with me close quote which she considered a threat. The video Bounds posted on social media on April 22nd, 2026 19:33 confirms this. Miller similarly described Bounds acquiring or using county related video footage from July 19th, 2025 and publicly discussing 19:42 Aubrey Fuller's FMLA and PTSD status, which witnesses believe likely came from polling. Witnesses also described Mike 19:51 Simmonson and Sammy McMullen as intimidating presences because they were associated with employee terminations and were brought along when polling 19:59 escorted and campaigned for candidate Ed Hartman through the county offices on March 24th of 2026. This conduct is 20:06 confirmed by video footage. Polling often brings one or more of these maintenance employees with him as an intimidation technique during confrontations with other county 20:15 employees and elected officials such as the Pam Harris July 1st, 2025 encounter and recent interactions with it. 20:24 Section two, illegal surveillance and wiretapping. 20:30 Multiple witnesses described the concern that commissioner polling used county cameras, audio features, WebEx 20:38 recordings, and related technology is tools for surveying and stalking employees rather than for public safety or building security. The testimony 20:46 reflects both firsthand technical information from Marcus Elliott and corroborating employee perceptions from Beth Wyers, Felicity Miller, Delaney 20:54 Zack, Emily Barnes, and others. The common theme across the interviews is that employees believe cameras and audio access affected where they felt 21:02 comfortable speaking, whether they trusted HR confidentiality, and whether polling knew or could learn where employees were, who they were meeting 21:09 with, and what was being said in county offices. Concerns about surveillance were not limited to county buildings and grounds. One witness, Megan Glickfield, 21:18 indicated that a neighbor's daughter had warned her that Ed Bounds had offered a family member of the neighbor $10,000 to get an incriminating photo or video of 21:26 Glickfield about a month after Glickfield had confronted commissioners about the condition of the courthouse building. 21:33 Beth Winter stated that there was a camera above or near her desk in the HR area and that employees were uncomfortable bringing concerns to HR 21:42 because they believe their conversations can be observed and recorded. Winters believed polling watched the cameras frequently, including to monitor 21:49 employee movement, smoke breaks, lunch breaks, department activity, and the location of employees inside county buildings. She further linked the camera 21:57 placement to polling's conduct during the January 27th, 2026 conference room incident, stating that she believed polling moved her away from the HR 22:06 camera because he knew the camera's range and wanted to speak outside its view. According to IT help desk logs, 22:13 polling put in a request to IT to have the camera installed on 102325 that had a view of the entrance to the 22:20 commissioner and HR office area. At the time the camera was initially installed in the HR area, Winters confirmed with 22:28 it that the audio was off for this camera. 22:32 Felicity Miller corroborated Winter's concerns and stated that employees knew or believe Polling was watching the cameras. Miller described polling 22:40 reacting quickly when a camera in the commissioner HR area is unplugged so interest could use the available internet port and reported that polling 22:47 directed it to run a new cable so the camera could be restored. IT job tickets confirm this request. 22:54 Miller also stated that polling appeared to know where the camera where the cameras were and and where they did and did not capture activity and that he 23:02 would move conversations out of camera range, lowered his voice or whisper near employees when he did not want the statements recorded or audible. Delaney 23:11 Z's testimony supports the conclusion that surveillance concerns were not limited to HR. 23:16 Ze stated that the cameras in the treasurer's office were originally installed for employee safety after a threat the public counter, but that 23:24 employees later believed the purpose had shifted towards monitoring or spying on staff. Zack acknowledged that she had no direct evidence that polling personally 23:32 reviewed the cameras, but stated that the presence of the cameras with audio contributed to anxiety and the perception that polling wanted to know everything that's going on with everyone, every situation. 23:43 Emily Barnes's interview confirms that camera and audio recordings were significant evidence sources for the March 2026 Ed Hartman office tour and 23:51 alleged electioneering incident. Barnes stated that the video existed for the relevant dates that she had reviewed it that the recording generally 23:58 corroborated the encounter, including audio that could be heard if listened to closely. Her testimony illustrates that even when the camera footage may 24:06 corroborate events, witnesses believe Polling understood camera placement and audio limitations well enough to move closer, lower his voice, or speak near 24:14 an employes's ear in a way that was more difficult to capture clearly. The recording of the March 24th, 2026 Emily 24:21 Barnes confrontation reflects this. IT manager Marcus Elliot's interview provides technical corroboration. 24:29 Elliot identified Verata as the county camera platform, confirmed that it can review login and access information and 24:37 explained that system records may show when users accessed cameras and which cameras were viewed. 24:44 Elliot also confirmed that public meeting recordings are downloaded and stored by it, that the county webex recordings and YouTube uploads may be 24:51 relevant, that commissioners had access to the camera system. Elliot further stated that Commissioner Polling and Commissioner Middlesworth directed it to 25:00 remote camera access from certain courthouse deputies and other users who formerly had access for courthouse operations. Elliot indicated that the 25:08 number of cameras increased since the beginning of 2025. 25:12 Significantly, Elliot stated that polling recently told him to turn on audio for the HR office camera and also told him not to tell anyone. 25:23 polling claimed that he wanted to know if Winters and Millers were going to leave. Elliot stated that the HR audio had previously been disabled because HR 25:33 conversations may involve personal policy, medical accommodation, or other confidential matters that should not be recorded. Elliot further stated that he 25:42 created a help desk ticket anyway to document polling's request and retain call logs showing the request and 25:49 follow-up call. These documents reflect that the request by polling was made on July 31st, 2026 around 9:00 a.m. only a 25:57 few days after this investigation was commenced. 26:01 Elliot stated that he complied because polling had camera system access and Elliot feared retaliation or adverse action against himself or IT staff if 26:10 polling later discovered audio had not been enabled. Neither Winters nor Miller were informed by IT or polling of this audio being activated. 26:20 The concerns of county personnel that polling engaged in surveillance of them is well founded. The user log for 26:28 polling from the last 3 months showing all of polling's loginins and activities in the verata system shows polling 26:35 engaged in significant amounts of review of multiple cameras in the county building and courthouse including frequent review of the camera over H the 26:44 HR office on the sixth floor identified on the log as commissioner's office during a 3-month period between May 21st and August 24th 2026. 26:55 polling log 4,870 separate events on the log. 27:01 The log shows that polling focused much of his attention on the commissioner's office camera where the county administrator and HR director is 27:08 located. There were 349 unique viewing sessions by polling of this camera during this 3-month time frame, of which 27:17 135 were live streaming and 214 were review of video history. 27:23 This surveillance included review of audio engaged cameras. 27:28 Between May 21st, 2026 and August 24th of 2026, polling triggered 137 camera 27:36 audio change events indicating a review of audio across multiple cameras with 55 of these entries linked to the 27:43 commissioner's office camera where HR is located. Each of these audio accesses by polling is a potential violation of the 27:50 federal wiretap act electronic communications privacy act 18 USC section 2510 to 2523 which carries a 27:58 prison sentence of up to 5 years for each violation. 28:02 Taken together the interviews call log supports t support tickets and poll polling's user log reflect serious 28:10 misconduct that could result in both criminal and civil consequences to polling under federal and state law. 28:16 The camera and audio issues also cut cuts across multiple allegation categories. The evidence is relevant to intimidation because witnesses believed 28:24 that polling used camera knowledge to isolate or confront employees away from view. It is relevant to retaliation because employees believed monitoring 28:32 could identify who was speaking with HR or participating in this investigation. 28:38 It is relevant to HR confidentiality because recording or enabling audio in HR could capture protected personal 28:45 medical FMLA ADA disciplinary or complaint related information. It is relevant to election related allegations 28:52 because camera footage and web WebEx records may corroborate the candidate tour and related employee encounters. 28:59 Because of these concern, county legal instructed it to turn off the audio on all cameras on August 20th, 2026. 29:08 Obstruction and interference with investigation. 29:12 The very next day, Friday, August 21st of 2026, Commissioner Polling confronted the IT manager, Marcus Elliott, about 29:20 why audio had been turned off on county cameras. The verata log shows polling attempted to access audio and county 29:27 cameras 12 times on August 20th. Elliot explained that legal had instructed him to turn off the audio on the cameras. 29:35 After questioning Elliot, polling stated that Elliot should have given him a heads up that he was Elliot's boss and that now he knew where he stood and that 29:43 in January he was going to clean stuff up. 29:46 Fellow IT employee Brian Kickendall stated that later that day after Marcus Elliott had left, Polling came back to it with the maintenance employees Mike 29:55 Simmonson and Shadow and instructed that the audio on the cameras be turned back on. 30:02 Hickall further stated that polling referenced conversations with other commissioners and worded his instruction in a manner that made it appear, at 30:10 least to Kickall, that polling had approval from the other commissioners. 30:14 Although Kick Doll had not personally heard from the other commissioners and was not aware of any public vote authorizing audio to be restored, 30:23 Kickandall turned the audio back on the following Monday morning because polling told him to do so. 30:29 Kickall further stated that during that same Friday afternoon conversation, polling instructed it not to share information, data, or documentation 30:38 related to the investigation unless two commissioners approved it. Kendall understood that that directive to apply 30:45 even if the request came from Beth Winters, Felicity Miller or LE or legal counsel. This instruction directly interfered with the outside 30:53 investigation because it placed an additional comm commissioner approval barrier between IIT and the county legal representatives requested information. 31:01 polling issue distracted even though Commissioner Polling was the subject of the investigation and neither of the other two commissioners ever voted on or approved any of the instructions given by Polling on August 21st. 31:14 Elliot's follow-up interview corroborates another interference concern. 31:19 Elliot confirmed that polling had not asked it to search or for or review particular employee emails, but stated that polling had directed it to back up 31:28 Beth Winters and Felicity Miller's emails approximately monthly because polling claimed they might leave and might delete files. Elliot stated that 31:38 polling did not have access to those backups and had not so far asked to review them, but the request remains relevant because it focused on two HR 31:46 employees involved in the investigation was made during the same general period in which polling also sought HR camera audio and later attempted to control 31:55 it's release of investigation related information. Taken together, Kendall and Elliot's testimony support a finding that polling attempted to not only 32:04 survey but also influence the availability, confidentiality, and flow of electronic evidence during the investigation. The conduct includes 32:12 seeking restoration of camera audio after legal directed that it be disabled, falsely implying or suggesting commissioner authorization, directing it 32:20 not to provide information to HR or legal without future commissioner approval, and targeting HR employees email accounts for recurring backup 32:28 based on the belief that they might leave. These facts are corroborated by help desk tickets, call logs, verata records, and pullings, activity log, and commissioner communications. 32:39 Section three, official misconduct, financial misconduct, conflicts of interest, and disclosure issues. 32:48 Witnesses described several categories of alleged official misconduct by Commissioner Polling, including the use of his county positions as both 32:57 commissioner and chairman of the draining drainage board and matters involving his private plumbing and drain business, repeated use of county labor 33:04 alongside his private business, voting on claims involving payments to his business, and incomplete disclosure of business interests. Beth Winter stated 33:13 that the county used Chuck's sewer and drain exclusively for plumbing and drain work and estimated annual payments of approximately $60,000. 33:22 Witnesses indicated that while Chuck's business was on site, county maintenance did much of the work. Invoices produced 33:29 from the February of 2025 through June 5th of 2026 show payments of $56,630 33:36 and as Wers described consistently show general round number bills with limited detail. The invoices and time records 33:45 show that on at least two occasions Chuck Sewer and Drain were paid for county work for the same time frame county maintenance employees also 33:52 received pay including overtime pay on the same projects. Winters further stated that Commissioner Polling generally did not abstain from approving 34:00 claims that included payments to his own business except on one occasion, she recalled. 34:05 Winters and Felicity Miller also described a drain cleaning machine arrangement in which Commissioner Polling permitted the county to use equipment from his business and then 34:13 after the county purchased a new machine, Polling allegedly took the new county purchase machine for his business. Miller estimated the equipment 34:22 cost was approximately $1,200 and linked the episode to a sewage leak response involving county maintenance employees working with polling's business 34:29 interests. The invoice for the new equipment lists the cost of $1,21041. 34:37 Witnesses further raised conflict of interest and disclosure issues involving Polling's business entities. Winter stated that Polling's conflict of 34:44 interest forms disclosed his plumbing or sewer drain business, but did not disclose Chomp Properties LLC, which identified as a real estate LLC owned 34:52 solely by Cole. Winters and Miller also referenced Chomp Properties claim deeding a property valued at $37,100 35:01 to Ed Bounds's Digital Marketing Productions LLC shortly before the primary election. While Ed Bounds's 35:09 platforms allegedly provide favorable media and advertising support to candidates aligned with polling, none of the aligned candidates show any 35:17 expenditure for advertising to bounds or his company on their campaign finance can forms. 35:24 Justin Sed off noted that polling had a dispute with county clerk Harris over his late filing of required conflict of 35:31 interest disclosure forms for 2022 and 2023. 35:36 Harris stamped them as being received on April 7th of 2025. According to Sadoff, polling asserted that Harris had lost 35:43 the disclosures. Harris denies this and reported that the April 2025 date for which the 2022 and 2023 late disclosures 35:51 were stamped were the dates that they were filed with the county. Justice Sato also raised an additional procurement concern regarding renovation work at the 35:59 Salem Bank building. Sad office's concern was that renovation activity may have been divided into smaller projects or separate work packages so that each 36:06 piece remained below the threshold and would trigger public bidding requirements under Indiana law. This issue was also raised by Pam Harris. 36:16 Section four, electioneering and bribery allegations. 36:20 Witness testimony described several election related concerns including bribery, electioneering on county property, pressure on employees to 36:27 support polling aligned candidates, use of county time or county facilities for campaign related activity, and possible finance campaign finance or disclosure issues. 36:37 Barnes stated that polling brought candidate Ed Hartner into the assessor's office during working hours, asking 36:44 Barnes whether she would vote, moved off camera, and stated close to her ear, quote, "If you vote for this guy, you'll be able to get a raise." Close quote. 36:54 Barnes then responded that she wasn't voting and she only voted in presidential elections. Verata video of the encounter on March 24th, 2026 37:03 confirms Barn's account of the interaction. Multiple other witnesses and additional video evidence corroborate the Hartman tour on that day 37:11 describing and showing Hartman being escorted through county offices on March 24th, 2026 with polling and maintenance employees Mike Simmonson and Sammy 37:20 McMullen. At least one other witness indicated they had heard polling exhort county workers to vote for Hartman by an elevator. Neither maintenance employee 37:29 neither maintenance employee accompanied Polling appear to be performing any maintenance work during the tour and overtime was charged to the county for 37:36 later that same day for maintenance work with Polling's business also charging $1,650 for the same work. 37:45 Winters also described countyf funded listening sessions concerning a feasibility study for the development of I near I69 and state route state road 26 37:55 that allegedly became campaign events after pulling asserted control over the meeting and urged attendees to vote for certain candidates if they opposed data 38:02 centers. She stated that the county stopped funding the sessions after they became in her words campaign things and a campaign circus. 38:11 Witnesses also raised campaign finance and advertising concerns involving Ed Bounds and Rashard Tyson channel 27 media platforms. Winter stated that 38:20 candidates not aligned with polling, including Stacy Landis and Commissioner Ron Stewart, were told there was no advertising space available, while 38:28 polling aligned candidates received support and advertising access. Winters and Miller stated that Ed Bounds's business received a quick claim deed 38:36 from polling property shortly before the election. Yet the witnesses did not see corresponding campaign finance expenditure disclosures by supported 38:45 candidates. These allegations are corroborated through campaign finance filings, deed records, and screenshots of advertising on the media entities. 38:54 Elliot also provided technical context for the March 24th, 2026 Ed Hartman building tour footage. He stated that it 39:02 preserved multiple veratic clips into an archive file. Elliot confirmed the footage showed Hartman and others moving through county buildings, including the 39:09 courthouse and other offices. Elliot further explained that some cameras contained audio, some did not, depending on where the audio had been enabled for 39:17 public comment areas. The recordings show that polling, Hartman, Simmonson, and McMullen traveled through both the county building and the courthouse to 39:25 various locations and offices talking to county employees and encouraging county employees to vote for Hartman. 39:35 Thank you, M. 39:37 Mr. Johnson, if you would please proceed with your recommendation to the commissioners in light of the report. 39:45 Thank you, Mr. 39:55 Thank you. Um, I reviewed the investigation report, uh, discussed its 40:01 contents with, um, the factual and legal investigator, Miss Lur, uh, including 40:09 the sections of the report that recite several, uh, state and federal statutes that may be implicated by the issues 40:18 raised in the report. true. The matters raised by the witness statements and the other evidence presented to the 40:26 investigator and described in the report, if true, raise substantial questions of liability 40:34 both for Grant County and for one of its commissioners individually. 40:38 This creates a duty for the county's executive board, the commissioners to take reasonable steps to remedy those 40:46 those things that are within its control and refer to others those matters that are beyond its authority. 40:54 In the report, the factual and legal investigator, Miss has included specific recommendations in subsection 8.6. 41:04 That's on page 26 of the report. That subsection provides the following recommendations and I'll I'll read those briefly. 41:15 Number one, immediate internal action. 41:18 Pursuant to Indiana code 3623.53, the board of commissioners is the county executive, not any individual 41:27 commissioner. The commissioner should immediately remove commissioner polling from any individual control over county 41:34 administration, county maintenance, HR, IT, surveillance systems, and all investigative materials that are 41:42 identified in 8.5 of the report, county claims, contracts, personnel, and employee decisions, and referral communications on behalf of the county. 41:52 Audio should remain disabled on all cameras. 41:57 This internal investigation report, the witness statement transcripts, and other documentary and video evidence in the 42:04 interviewing attorney's data room should be made available to the public and preserved on the county website immediately after this special session concludes. 42:14 And the video of the special session of the commissioners on December, today's date, September 2nd, 2026, should immedately be uploaded and preserved on YouTube. 42:24 Polling should be warned not to threaten, intimidate, retaliate against, harass directly or indirectly through 42:31 other persons or any means any witnesses that made statements or contributed to this internal investigation report. And 42:39 county employees and elected officials should be encouraged to report any such action by following to the HR director for immediate followup with the county legal department. 42:50 Number two, county remedial measures and policies. The county should adopt or revise and consistently enforce policies 42:59 governing conflicts of interests and recusals, independent HR reporting, ADA, FMLA and medical record confidentiality, 43:08 financial procurement controls, campaign use of county resources, hiring position appointments, nepotism, surveillance, and record retention. 43:19 The policy should assign responsibility, provide reporting and enforcement procedures, prohibit retaliation for complaints made in good faith, and 43:27 require corrective and dis or disciplinary action for violations. 43:32 The county should further adopt or revise policies, resolutions, and ordinances that one, delegate county administration matters to the county 43:40 administrator as contemplated under Indiana code 362-2-14. 43:47 Two, adopt a camera and security policy that uses such systems only for video and not audio and only for security 43:54 personnel or for legal matters as authorized only by the county legal department. 44:00 Three, adopt an ethics policy that among other ethics matters prohibits business transactions of the county with 44:07 commissioners or council members and their businesses. and four um that are otherwise appropriate. Policies that are 44:15 otherwise appropriate are recommended by the consulting county attorney in the premises. 44:21 Lastly, the county should consult with the county's employment lawyer regarding the advisability of pursuing a workplace protective order for any county employee 44:29 that is unlawfully harassed, threatened, intimidated, or harmed by bullying. 44:35 Three, state investigative referral. The county should provide this complete investigation report and supporting evidence to the appropriate unit of the 44:44 Indiana State Police and a conflictfree prosecuting attorney for further action on implicated state law issues as they 44:51 deem appropriate. If the Grant County prosecutor has an actual or apparent conflict, council should request transfer or appointment or appointment of a special prosecutor. 45:03 Federal investigative referral. The county should provide the complete investigation report and supporting evidence to the FBI Indianapolis field 45:11 office and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana for further action as they deem appropriate on potential public 45:19 corruption, bribery, election coercion, unlawful surveillance and wiretapping, misuse of office, financial offenses, 45:28 civil rights violations, and obstruction. 45:32 Five, state board of accounts investigative referral. The county should provide the complete investigation report and supporting evidence to the Indiana State Board of 45:40 Accounts for audit and referral as deemed appropriate regarding financial, payroll, equipment, procurement, 45:47 conflict, ghost, employment, property conversion, fraud, and public funds issues. 45:54 Six, possible other jurisdictional referrals. The county should consider referral of relevant matters to the Indiana Attorney General or other 46:01 authorities having jurisdiction over such matters as deemed appropriate. 46:07 Seven, referral process and cooperation consulting county attorney Ormsby should make the referrals on behalf of the 46:14 commissioners. Provide this report and the data room of public of supporting evidence to the investigating 46:21 investigating authorities. preserve evidence, privilege, and confidentiality as appropriate and serve as the county's point of contact. 46:31 All departments and employees of the county should be direct should be directed to cooperate with consulting county attorney Orsby and all matters 46:39 stated in this section 8.6 and in all investigations by the county or other investigating authorities on this 46:46 matter. The county should cooperate fully with investigating authorities. 46:51 avoid directing charging decisions and leave to scope and conduct of any further investigation to those receiving authorities. 47:00 Thank you. In light of the board's legal duties and considering the substantial questions of liability presented by the 47:08 witness statements and the evidence that's been reviewed here today and is further included in the um um data 47:16 preserve, it would be appropriate for the board by motion to adopt and implement the recommendations set forth 47:23 in section 8.6 six of the report and to direct consulting county attorney Edwards to implement those recommendations forth with. 47:34 Thank you, Mr. Johnson. 47:38 Commissioners, um, in a moment I want to ask you to entertain a motion to adopt that subsection 8.6 47:46 in light of Mr. Johnson's recommendation. 47:50 But before I do, I would like to make some brief and final comments. 47:56 I've seen some recent Facebook posts in advance of this here of this meeting 48:03 that I wanted to address and I would like to address particularly some of the political allies and enablers of 48:10 Commissioner Polling that have tried to discourage the publication of this report. 48:17 This investigation is not about politics. 48:21 It's about accountability, public integrity, workplace safety, and the duty of county government to respond 48:29 when credible evidence indicates that an elected official has abused public office, intimidated employees, misuse 48:39 misused county resources, interfered with lawful processes, committed criminal acts, and placed the public trust at risk. 48:49 No commissioner, office holder, or political ally is above the law. 48:55 The record summarized in this report reflects multiple witnesses, contemporaneous documentation, 49:02 video evidence, access logs, financial records, public records, and corroborating accounts that demonstrate 49:09 serious issues regarding Commissioner Chuck Polling's conduct. These issues cannot credibly and responsibly be 49:17 dismissed. as politically motivated as some have suggested before they have even heard the report. 49:26 Instead, the credible allegations against Commissioner Polling strike at the core of honest and lawful county government. For those reasons, the 49:34 investigation has been brought into the open to the fullest extent permitted by law. The public has a right to know 49:42 whether county power, county funds, county employees, county technology, and county offices were used for private, 49:51 political, retaliatory, criminal, and unlawful purposes. 49:56 Exposing misconduct is not political retaliation. It is the necessary work of transparent government. and those trying 50:05 to spin a perpetrator into a victim are engaging in political gaslighting at its worst. 50:14 When public service servants are entrusted with power, we must also be subject to accountability. 50:22 Using and abusing people is not okay. Breaking the law is not okay. 50:30 Taking advantage of the county and its citizens is not okay and we all need to return to those decent values. 50:39 In light of the evidentiary premises of the investigation report, the actions recommended in subsection 8.6 50:48 are appropriate, measured, and necessary. They preserve evidence, protect employees and witnesses, remove 50:56 the subject of the investigation from individual control over matters directly related to the allegations. Refer the 51:03 evidence to independent state and federal authorities. Strengthen county policies and allow conflictfree 51:10 investigators, not politics, to determine what further action is warranted. Taking these steps is not 51:17 only legally prudent, it is the right thing to do for county employees, county taxpayers, and the integrity of county government. 51:26 Accordingly, I respectfully request a motion be entertained by the commissioners to adopt subsection 8.6 in full for immediate implementation. 51:37 So, move. 51:40 We have a uh motion by Commissioner Oliver to approve the adoption of subsection 8.6. 51:49 I will second that motion. Uh all those in favor signify by saying I please I I. Any opposed? 51:58 We have Commissioner Polling opposed. Motion carried. 52:04 Thank you, Mr. Worms. Um, we will move on to comments by the commissioners. Uh, at this time I have no comments. 52:12 Commissioner Oliver, do you have anything? No comments. 52:15 Uh, nothing by Commissioner Oliver. Uh, Commissioner Polling, would you like to speak or say anything? Okay. 52:22 We are getting ready to adjourn the meeting. Uh, we do have a full house. 52:26 So, uh, Captain Sneed, um, if you could help facilitate, um, getting everybody out in an orderly manner, um, I would 52:34 suggest maybe start to the left side over here and then moving to the right. Um, the special session is a journ. 52:41 Thank you.