LAWTON — The Comanche County Board of Commissioners has tapped an Oklahoma City-based law firm to defend the county against Cache Public Schools’ lawsuit.
The commission voted 2-0 April 5 to approve a contract with the Oklahoma City-based law firm Collins, Zorn and Wagner, which will represent the county’s interests in the lawsuit. Commissioner Josh Powers abstained from voting, citing a conflict.
Earlier in the week, Powers abstained from voting on motions to hire outside counsel for the lawsuit and use money from the county’s Home Finance Principle Fund to pay the law firm. Both motions passed on 2-0 votes.
The commission was scheduled to vote Monday on whether to encumber $25,000 from the Home Finance Principle Fund for the law firm’s services, according to the commission’s agenda.
The Cache school district is suing the county, alleging that the county assessor’s office made a significant valuation error in 2021 that cost the district millions in tax revenue. Assessor Grant Edwards, the Comanche County Equalization Board and the Comanche County Treasurer’s Office are named as defendants in the case.
The events that triggered the lawsuit began in March 2021, when a member of Edwards’ staff made a mistake in calculating the school district’s net assessed valuation, Southwest Ledger reported in its April 4 edition. County officials acknowledged the mistake about a year later but said they were not aware of the problem until June 2022.
County officials said a conflict between the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Goodyear Co. was also part of the problem.
The lawsuit said Edwards and the county treasurer’s office made the following mistakes, according to the Ledger:
• Failing to calculate property values correctly.
• Failing to implement a checks-and-balances system to determine property values.
• Failing to notify the school district promptly of any problems.
The lawsuit also said the equalization board failed to review information that the school district had provided, the Ledger reported. Because of that failure, the school district was not funded properly as required by state law.
The school district is seeking $3.32 million in damages, plus attorneys’ fees, court costs and other relief.