County might suspend Petersen without pay
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will decide Monday whether to suspend indicted Assessor Paul Petersen without pay for “neglect of duty.”
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will decide Monday whether to suspend Assessor Paul Petersen without pay for “neglect of duty.”
Petersen faces felony charges in three states for allegedly running an illegal, international adoption scheme in his private-sector job as an adoption attorney.
The board’s decision to hold a vote on Petersen’s future comes after multiple closed-door meetings with county attorneys to determine what, if anything, the board could do to remove Petersen from office.
The Board of Supervisors is the central governing body for the county, but it typically cannot remove other elected officials, like Petersen, from office.
However, state law says the board can temporarily remove the assessor or treasurer for “defalcation or neglect of duty.” The suspension can be up to 120 days.
If the board votes to suspend Petersen, he can request a hearing before the board to ask that the suspension is
overturned.
Petersen’s attorney, Kurt Altman, stated he was disappointed that the board used a “little known statute” to suspend Petersen, and even more disappointed in the board’s “continued effort to tarnish Mr. Petersen and trample his rights under the Constitution.”
“I reiterate, the charges against Paul are simply allegations. In our system, Paul is as innocent today as he was before the formal accusations. It’s unfortunate the board continues to forget that,” Altman wrote.
Petersen has been in jail since Oct. 8. And an investigation by The Arizona Republic showed he has spent little time at the Assessor’s Office in the past year.
Petersen badged into the parking garage for county government workers 53 times from Jan. 1 through Oct. 2, 2019, county records show. That’s less than 30% of the available workdays.
Most days that he was in the office, he spent about four hours there, records show. Petersen’s taxpayer-funded salary is about $77,000 per year.
During a board meeting Wednesday, the board voted unanimously to hold a vote Monday on whether to suspend him.
“Due to Mr. Petersen’s detention, he is not physically present in the office, with severely restricted telephonic communication and access to email,” Supervisor Clint Hickman said.
Last week, Chairman Bill Gates ordered an audit into whether Petersen used public resources for his privatesector job. County spokesman Fields Moseley said that audit is still underway.