Mahaska County Supervisor resigns after residency is called into question

Oskaloosa, Iowa- Mahaska County Supervisor Mark Doland resigned May 7, effective June 5. The resignation comes after Doland’s residency was called into question by a member the media at a recent county supervisors meeting. A later investigation by the News-Review suggested he may no longer be a resident of Mahaska County. Doland was first elected as a Mahaska County Supervisor after he prevailed in a controversial special election by 21 votes in January 2013. He was re-elected to a full term in 2014 and had initially declined to seek another term in this year's election.


The issue was considered one of the worst kept secrets in Mahaska County came to a head at the May 2 Mahaska County Supervisors meeting when a member of the press confronted Doland on the issue and asked that he resign. Doland declined, stating that he lives with a friend in Oskaloosa, who is currently an employee of Mahaska County Secondary Roads.


Documents obtained by the News-Review show that Doland recently sold real estate property he owned in Fremont. Doland listed his address on a Real Estate Transfer filed with the Mahaska County Recorder’s Office as 1803 Burlington Ave, Oskaloosa. The transfer was recorded on April 10.


However, additional documents filed in federal bankruptcy court suggest Doland lives over an hour outside of Oskaloosa. Doland and his wife, Jennifer, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Iowa Federal Bankruptcy Court on April 16. On the filings, Doland responded to the question “address where you live” with an address in Norwalk, over an hour away from Oskaloosa. According to state law, Doland must be a resident of Mahaska County in order to serve as a Mahaska County Supervisor.


Documents in the Bankruptcy filings show that Doland has continued to receive his salary as a Mahaska County Supervisor, with Doland noting the income in a supplemental income disclosure form. Doland reported making $32,750 as a Supervisor in 2017. Pay stubs from February, March, and April 2018 were included with the filing, showing that Doland has continued to receive a monthly salary of around $2,000 as a Supervisor.


The address listed on Doland's pay stubs for Mahaska County was listed as 1803 Burlington Ave, Oskaloosa, the same address listed on the Real Estate Transfer filed by Doland in early April. News-Review staff stopped by the location multiple times at different times of the day over a week period, and at all times, the home appeared to be vacant, with no signs of anyone living in the residence. In addition, Doland’s federal bankruptcy filing states that he moved from that location in December 2017 to Norwalk.

 

For more on this story, catch the May 9 edition of the News-Review.

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