Julia Pierce | May 20, 2026

I know in a previous article that I praised Heather Wright for redeeming the transparency of the county manager’s office, in Heather Wright, County Clerk of Marion County Redeems Transparency from County Manager’s Office, but over the past couple of weeks, since I started digging into the road department mishaps, I have seen Heather change back to how she was before, and that to me is sad.

So what caused me to change my mind about Heather?

This is now the second attempt I have made to request the pay stubs for all Road Department Employees for the date range of March 29, 2026 through April 11, 2026, and I have yet to get the information I have asked for, being told by Heather and Connie all sorts of answers that don’t fit the original request.

First Open Records Request

I put in an Open Request on April 24, 2026, for pay stubs for all of the road department employees for the date range of March 29, 2026 through April 11, 2026, and Heather Wright provided me documents that indicated at the bottom that they were for March 15, 2026 through March 28, 2026; not for March 29, 2026 through April 11, 2026.

When I graciously indicated that she may have made a mistake and asked her to send me the correct pay stubs, where I also indicated that I was a day off on the date ranges and corrected that date range to reflect the date range of March 29, 2026 through April 11, 2026, she indicated that these were in fact the pay stubs that covered that time period and that the pay date was for April 2, 2026.

Heather once again indicated that the only pay stubs that accommodated this time range was for the pay date of April 2, 2026. How could the pay date of April 2 be for two date ranges – March 15, 2026 through March 28, 2026 AND March 29 through March 11, 2026, when they get paid bi-weekly? And was she truly convinced that I couldn’t see with my own eyes that these pay stubs were for a different date range?

On the pay stubs that she included both times, it is clearly indicated that these are for pay date of April 2, 2026 and that they are for March 15, 2026 to March 28, 2026. I have sent this to her now twice to reflect that she is the one providing misinformation as the “final answer” to my request, since now, she, just as has Tiffany, chosen to include a message that THEY consider the request closed, even though I have not had the opportunity to verify it and if it’s not correct, as in this case, they direct me to open a new request, which I will not do if they haven’t fulfilled my original request.

I have attempted ad nauseam to explain why these are not the correct pay stubs to Heather, and I have to question, does Heather really believe that these pay stubs fulfill a request for the pay stubs for the following two weeks? Is she able to read? Can she see well? Does she think I’m stupid?

Second Open Records Request

In my second request on May 12, 2026, I asked Heather what pay date that those who worked March 29, 2026 through April 11, 2026 would get paid on and she said,

“To help answer your question, if they worked from March 29, 2026, to April 11, 2026, they would be paid for that time period on April 16, 2026. All employees are paid for the time worked from the previous two week period.”

So, if that is what I asked for and she indicated that they were paid on the 16th, why didn’t she just give me the pay stubs that I asked for? Why did she maintain that the only pay stubs for that pay period were for the pay date of April 2, 2026? Does she really believe that they would get paid on April 2, 2026 for time they had yet to work and would not finish until April 11, 2026? Did she really believe that I would believe that? Was she really this blind?

I really thought that by asking her again, by way of this second request, that maybe she would have seen the error of her ways from the last response she gave me and have come to her senses, but to my surprise, her answer didn’t change, which really has me questioning, is Heather choosing to refuse to give me these pay stubs or is she just inept?

The word “inept” means, “someone or something acting with no skill, completely lacking ability, or entirely inappropriate for the situation. It can refer to a clumsy person, a poorly executed task, or a highly unsuitable comment.”

Because I wasn’t getting anywhere with Heather, obviously, on May 14, 2026, I forwarded this email interchange to Connie Harris and told her what I was facing as it appeared Heather did not have the capacity or intelligence to fulfill my request. I also sent it to Connie since she has complained that I have been given misinformation, so that she could see that it is her clerk who has been sending me that alleged “misinformation.”

I sent the following:

This is another instance of being sent incorrect information. I asked for the pay stubs that cover the days worked from March 29 through April 11 and Heather indicated that the only stubs she had were for April 2 pay date. 

When she indicated that the days I asked for would be included in the pay date for April 16, why didn’t she give me the pay stubs I asked for, if she had them? 

I notice now that Heather is out of the office until Monday, so could you please provide me with the correct pay stubs according to my original request.

As a side note, this is now the second time I have made a request to Heather for this same exact pay period and she keeps giving me the same answer and providing me the same incorrect pay stubs. So either Heather is very confused, she is attempting to keep me from getting me the correct information, or she is showing that she is not capable of doing her job.

And when she now states that she considers this request closed, I would like to add that I inferred this as “go away, I don’t want to deal with you on this matter anymore” and that’s not only unprofessional, but it is rude. The professional way of handling an Open Records request is to allow the requestor to review the information and then indicate that the request is satisfactory or request for the correct information if it’s not correct. Heather didn’t previously behave this way, but I believe she picked this up from Tiffany because that’s exactly what Tiffany does and it’s almost the same exact verbiage.

If the election supervisor and deputy registrar wants to act this way, that’s on her, but for your clerk to begin acting this way, it supports the suspicion I and others already have that you and your clerks are helping Tiffany cover things up.

If that’s the wrong inference on my part, please explain why Heather decided to start doing exactly what Tiffany is doing. It doesn’t support government transparency.

And this was Connie’s response.

Good morning,

The pay periods for the time period you are referencing are as follows. I know that some Open Records have been filled regarding some of these. If you would like to obtain any documents, please reference those specific pay periods when responding so we can provide what you need.

03/29/2026 throu 04/11/2026

04/12/26 through 04/25/26

04/26/26 through 05/09/2026

At this point, I really had to shake my head, because not only did Heather not seem to know what she was doing, but now Connie was showing that she didn’t know what she was doing either.

So, I responded, to Connie.

Connie:

I have referenced the pay period for 3/29 through 4/11 in my original open records request and that is what I’m asking you to produce because Heather hasn’t. Could you please attach those documents as I have requested? I don’t understand why it’s so confusing for you all or why you have to add information I have not requested. Please just provide the documents I have requested.

It is now 6 days since I have had my last interchange with Connie Harris and I have still not received these pay stubs, which Connie has stated that I could indicate which ones I was requesting, but I already had – in the original email and I told her so.

Heather and Connie both indicated that these pay stubs were available, that they would be for April 16, 2026 pay date, and yet they have both refused to provide them to me.

The question is “Why?”

Do they not know how to read? Are they confused about what I am asking for? Why does Heather seem so convinced she has given me the right documents only to, a few sentences later, contradict her own belief? And why has Connie indicated that those pay stubs are available – the ones I originally asked for – and is yet refusing to send them to me as a fulfillment of my original open records request? And ultimately, where is the professionalism of Connie’s office and her clerk?

Does it appear to anyone else that these ladies are playing a game with me hoping I’ll just give up and go away or are they truly inept at their jobs and should they be replaced with others more capable?

This is supporting documentation that indicates that if I’m being accused of putting out information, it is because I am being given misinformation. I can’t make a square fit in a circular hole, and that’s what it seems that Connie and her clerk expect me to do.

Is it a wonder with behavior like this and poor bookkeeping skills that our county’s finances are the way they are?

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