County clerk Susan Walker denies allegations, offers documents and recording in executive-session request

Susan Walker, the Bourbon County clerk, addressed the board during public comment to say that allegations circulating on social media and in counsel's correspondence to the attorney general are unfounded and that her office did not manipulate numbers or illegally process payments. "You will not find manipulation of numbers, and you will not find my office illegally processing payments," she said, adding that she has provided "documentation and evidence" to rebut the claims.

Walker told commissioners she also possesses a recording that she said "directly supports the innocence" of a former deputy and suggested the recording be played in executive session. She said the records and timeline she shared are public records, with only personally sensitive information redacted, and urged the board to focus on governing rather than what she described as continued attacks on her office.

The clerk said some communications distributed online and sent by legal counsel to outside authorities "accuse my office and employees, past and present, of likely criminal activity," and she said such claims are serious. "If a review uncovers minor clerical errors, we will address them just as any responsible office would," Walker told the commission, but she reiterated that the substantive accusations are unfounded.

The board later moved to go into executive session under KSA 75-4319(b)(1) to discuss personnel matters and privacy; the meeting minutes record the motion and the subsequent recess. The clerk said she would be willing to present her recording and supporting documents in that executive session if the board wishes to review them in private.