State Auditor Rebecca Otto
Republicans are blasting State Auditor Rebecca Otto for spending over 100 thousand dollars of taxpayer money on legal counsel as she decides whether to challenge a new state law in court. The law allows counties to have their audits done by outside firms rather than the state auditor’s office — something Otto argues is unconstitutional because one of her office’s core functions is “safeguarding taxpayers by auditing the billions of tax dollars Minnesota counties spend each year.” Republican state Representative Sarah Anderson responds the new law allows counties to save money on audits and says citizens will be stuck footing the bill for what she calls the state auditor’s folly.