CACHE COUNTY – In a move that seems to signal a growing mood for change on the part of Cache County Republican delegates, outsider candidate Matthew Funk swept to a decisive victory in the local GOP Nomination Convention on April 13.
Rejecting the bids for their approval of two internal candidates already employed by Cache County, the GOP delegates endorsed Funk for the new elective post of County Auditor.
A local certified public accountant, Funk made much of his outsider status while seeking the GOP nod for that post.
“I didn’t create the problems in the county’s government,” Funk promised the convention delegates. “But I am willing to take responsibility for solving them.”
In the first round of balloting, Funk captured about 55 percent of the 541 votes cast, compared to 24 percent for county tax administrator Dianna Schaeffer and about 20 percent for deputy county executive Dirk Anderson, who was eliminated.
In the second round, Schaeffer’s ballot count shrank slightly while Funk’s grew to nearly 75 percent, capturing the Republican Party nomination.
The “problems” that Funk was referring to go deeper than just the toxic atmosphere in the Cache County government that has been so much in the news lately. Instead, he was referring to problems of elective officials alleged playing fast and loose with the taxpayers’ money as revealed in two recent audits – one conducted by state officials and another by independent contract auditors.
Funk alleges that Cache County nearly lost millions of dollars in grant funding because a team of state auditors discovered fraud, misappropriations, violations of state statutes, weak internal controls and lack of documentation in the county’s financial processes.
Additionally, he says, the forensic audit identified at least one instance where budget allocations authorized in writing by the Cache County Council were not followed, allowing over $350,000 of taxpayer money to be illegally redirected over a period of years.
In addition to his status as a CPA, Funk is a fourth-generation farmer, business owner and formerly served on the justice court bench.
He espouses a better future for Cache County by focusing on accountability, rigor and integrity in the Cache County Finance Division.
With no primary challenger, Funk’s candidacy will now advance to the General Election on Nov. 5.