LINN — Linn aldermen did not approve the certified election results as presented from the Osage County Clerk’s office at their meeting on Wednesday, April 26.

Alderman Dustin Flamm, who ran against Michael Troesser for the mayor’s seat, abstained from voting on Ordinance #2026-003. The certified election results showed Troesser winning a four-year term by a 127-101 margin. Ward 1 Alderman Steve Boeckmann retained his position after running unopposed for a two-year term. In Ward 2, Alderman Chris Jaeger defeated challenger Bill Wirtel, 94-49, to keep his seat.

“At this point, there are some questions on the ballots on the east side of town with the annexation, and Osage County has taken this to the Missouri State Supreme Court,” Mayor Dwight Massey said. “Until we hear from them, we don’t know what the results will be.”

Massey noted that the initial hearing is set for May 7.

In an email from the city of Linn that accompanied the agenda, City Clerk Carrie Grellner explained that the city had received information that there are 40 registered voters in the annexed area on the east side of town that could potentially affect the mayoral race. The outcome of the alderman races would not be affected.  According to the email written by Grellner, “Brooke Dudenhoeffer (Osage County Clerk) said that the county will file and pay for a special election.”

Boeckmann asked what would happen if aldermen accepted the certified election results.

“They can call for a special election, which may or may not overturn the election,” Massey said.

He explained that for the last several elections, all candidates had run unopposed and no issues had arisen.

“I should have been running unopposed,” Troesser said. “According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, some personal taxes were not paid before the election ...”

“Okay, hold on, before you go too far,” Massey interrupted. “The first thing you need to understand is that I’m not a lawyer and I don’t think that you are.”

“No, sir,” Troesser answered.

“The Missouri Election Commission is the one that will make the decisions about the election, not us,” Massey said. “Secondly, in my opinion, the filings were done before the taxes were due.”

“But the absentee voting had already started,” Troesser argued. “The Missouri Department of Revenue says that (Dustin Flamm) shouldn’t have been on the ballot.”

Troesser offered to give Massey the phone number for the Missouri Department of Revenue so that he could confirm the information.

“I have their number,” Massey said. “What I’m telling you is that the Missouri Election Commission is going to make this decision, not us.”

Massey was asked why issues about the ballot were not brought up before the election results were certified.

“I was notified of it before the election results came out, but I did not know what our recourse was at that point,” Massey replied. “By the time the polls closed, the Osage County Clerk’s office was closed, and the next morning they came out. I’m not here to argue. You can talk all you want. These people (referring to aldermen) have to vote on this issue, not me, and not you. At this point, the county has agreed that it did not file the paperwork correctly. At this point, the county has agreed they will submit their case to the Missouri Supreme Court, and they, just like us, are waiting for the results. That’s all I can tell you for certain.

“I do not know how they are going to rule,” Massey continued. “They may say we don’t need an election, and at that point, we put Mr. Troesser in, no problem. If they say we do need an election, what happens to anything conducted in between? I don’t know. This is all over my head. I’ve talked to multiple attorneys, and not one of them can give me an answer.”

Massey was asked if the city had been receiving property taxes from the annexed area.

“That is an entirely different issue than what is on the table at this point,” Massey said, calling on the board to accept or reject the certified results of the election.

“If we don’t accept this, does everything remain as it is?” Alderman Bill Turner asked.

Massey said that the aldermen first needed to vote on the issue at hand, and then, depending on that vote, they could decide how to proceed.

Troesser said that, according to the attorneys he had consulted, the results for aldermen Boeckmann and Jaegers would not be affected by the registered voters in the annexed area.

“My problem is that we have to accept the county’s results as they are presented to us or not,” Massey said. “We don’t have the authority to pick and choose which results we accept. I don’t think anyone should have that authority. We don’t have the right to pick and choose. All that we have the right to do is accept or deny the results. That’s my opinion.”

“There are people who weren’t able to vote. I can’t accept the results until I know everyone has had the chance to be a part of the process,” Jaegers said.

“In my opinion, I do not like not accepting the results, but if we accept the results, and swear everyone in, any business we take care of, until the court makes a decision, is null and void,” Boeckmann said.

“We’re trying to see through mud,” Massey said. “We’ve talked to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. We’ve talked to the Missouri Municipal League. We’ve attempted to reach out to numerous attorneys. We have posed this question multiple times over the last several days, and everybody likes to say, ‘call someone else.’ Nobody wants to give us a straight answer. Nobody will tell us what our avenues are. At this point, we are still in limbo, and no one will give us an answer.”

Massey explained that if a special election is held, the county will pay all costs.

“This issue has never come up before,” Massey said. “I’m trying my best to navigate it because I don’t know. If I could leave, I’d be happy, but I also want to make sure that this is right.”

Resident Jerry Williams did not think that it was right that the Board of Aldermen did not accept the certified election results.

“They (the Aldermen) have their vote, you don’t, and I don’t,” Massey said.

“I get that,” Williams responded. “I had my vote, and you are going to take it away from me.”

“You may get the opportunity to recast that vote, but there were people denied that right,” Massey said.

Williams repeated that there were no concerns raised before the vote was certified.

“Yeah, they did, but we couldn’t figure out what our avenue was,” Massey said. “They complained to me.”

At that point, several residents and supporters of Troesser repeated earlier claims regarding the election and Flamm’s eligibility.

Massey called for an end to the discussion, and the Board of Aldermen opted not to approve the election results.

“At this point, my term as mayor has expired, and I can step aside or stay on,” Massey said.

Turner said that he had been researching the city’s ordinances and statutes, and he believed that Massey would remain in his position until the issue is resolved.

Aldermen agreed to table the issue until the results of the Supreme Court hearing on May 7.

“We are in a situation we are not familiar with,” Massey said. “We’re going to get through this the best that we can. We want to resolve it as fast as we can. We want to turn the power over and move on.”

Massey thanked everyone for being patient as the city navigates this unfamiliar issue.

• Remaining business will be reported in next week’s paper.