Wyandotte County’s chief financial officer resigns, citing reorganization concerns

Wyandotte County’s chief financial officer said Thursday she will resign from the Unified Government over concerns she has about restructuring of the financial department.

Kathleen VonAchen, who submitted her resignation letter Thursday, said her decision had nothing to do with a recent Kansas Bureau of Investigation search of Unified Government headquarters that sought her emails, among other things, as part of a theft investigation. VonAchen, who will remain in her role until Dec. 14, told The Star that she is not under investigation.

In her resignation letter, VonAchen said recent recommendations, including moving the budget office away from the CFO’s oversight, influenced her decision. She said the recommendations did not fit with her “professional construct.”

“I saw ... first-hand at the City of Stockton, California how this organizational structure negatively impacted the fiscal outlook of the municipality,” VonAchen wrote to Interim County Administrator Cheryl Harrison-Lee. “I decided I just can’t accept these changes and continue in this new role.”

VonAchen worked for Stockton from 2008 to 2011, including as interim CFO, according to her LinkedIn profile. In 2012, the city was the largest in the U.S. to file for bankruptcy, which was blamed on two decades of fiscal mismanagement.

In February 2016, VonAchen became the CFO in Wyandotte County, overseeing dozens of employees who work in the UG’s financial functions. In January, she became a guest lecturer at the University of Kansas.

In a phone interview, VonAchen said she is sad to leave.

“We accomplished a great number of innovations in the financial department,” she said. “I enjoyed working with the commission for a financially stable future.”

VonAchen said she will stay on to help the UG as it works on its proposed 2023 budget and other projects that are expected to be completed in the near future.

Earlier this year, the UG hired three consulting firms to conduct assessments of its departments. The findings, which were presented in July and August, included the recommendation that the UG restructure.

VonAchen said she was not consulted about the changing nature of her job responsibilities.

The Unified Government did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment from Harrison-Lee or Mayor Tyrone Garner.

Last month, the KBI executed a search warrant at the UG and sought email records from VonAchen and the UG’s accounting fiscal officer, among a host of other documents. The warrant, served in connection with a KBI theft investigation, targeted areas of City Hall used by the finance and IT departments. No one has been charged in the case.

Melissa Underwood, a KBI spokesperson, said the investigation is ongoing, but declined to comment further.

“When the investigation concludes we will present our findings to the Wyandotte County DA’s Office for consideration of charges,” she wrote in an email. “If it is determined that criminal charges will be filed, at that time additional case details can be shared.”