EAST WENATCHEE — Douglas County commissioners have sued and suspended Treasurer Natalie Marx after the IRS levied $93,000 in penalties against the county for late payments in 2020 and 2021.
Commissioners filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Douglas County Superior Court after being notified of the penalties by the county auditor on July 23.
The lawsuit accused Marx of “the repeated unabated failure to timely deposit payroll taxes to the IRS.” That failure “constitutes official misconduct and neglect of duty of a public official,” the lawsuit said.
The board was notified of 14 incidents, 13 related to late payments of monthly federal taxes, according to a Wednesday news release from the county.
Douglas County alleges in the complaint that Marx also failed to pay in a timely manner payroll taxes for the Eastmont and Bridgeport school districts.
Marx has worked in the Douglas County treasurer’s office since 2005. She ran for the position of treasurer unopposed in the 2018 mid-term election. The county treasurer is responsible for the receipts, investments, and disbursement of all funds collected by the county.
Marx could not be reached to comment. County Attorney Gordon Edgar also could not reached to comment.
Douglas County’s lawsuit asks a judge to use a $150,000 bond on the treasurer to pay for the cost of the late penalties.
The county commission and prosecutor are investigating to determine the responsible parties, how the errors occurred, how to account for the fees as well as how to ensure more public funds are not lost to penalty fees or fines in the future, according to the news release.
