Wegner | Courtesy of LinkedIn An independent investigation found no evidence that Curry County Director of Operations Ted Fitzgerald engaged in gender discrimination, harassment or retaliation against County Assessor and Tax Collector Kylie Wegner. Even so, Wegner’s tort claim notice, sent to the Board of Commissioners on April 8, puts them on notice that she could take further legal action against the county and against Fitzgerald individually. On Monday — after the county announced the findings of the investigation — Wegner said she’s yet not at liberty to say what her next steps will be, but told Redwood Voice Community News that “it’s not over.” “They are not denying they read these things that (Fitzgerald) sent me and they are saying they don’t have an issue with those types of messages being sent to an elected official,” she said. “Don’t I deserve respect? No employee or elected official should have to work in an environment like that.” In a press release Thursday, the county stated that the investigator determined that Wegner’s allegations were “inconsistent with the facts, lacked corroboration and omitted material evidence.” “The investigator concluded that the county official’s ‘ability to fully and accurately narrate events (were) impaired,’” the press release stated. “The Board of Commissioners is gratified that the independent investigation has come to a conclusion, which brings closure to the allegations brought against Mr. Fitzgerald and also affirms the effectiveness of Curry County’s approach to maintaining a fair, respectful and inclusive workplace for all.” The press release doesn’t refer to Wegner by name or position. The county assessor and tax collector told Redwood Voice on Monday that she hasn’t yet seen the report. “I was shocked that I hadn’t received it when they wrote this and I still haven’t seen it,” she said, referring to the press release and the findings of the investigation. “ Curry County Director of Operations Ted Fitzgerald (middle) with former commissioner Brad Alcorn (left) and current commissioner Jay Trost (right). | Courtesy of Curry County According to the tort claim, filed on Wegner’s behalf by Portland attorney Sean J. Riddell, her allegations against Fitzgerald, who is also Curry County counsel, stem from several inappropriate statements and text messages he made to her. When reached for comment Monday, Fitzgerald said he was “pleased that the truth was very clear to the third-party investigator.” He said Wegner going public with her allegations and the tort claim notice, and Redwood Voice’s report on those allegations in July, made it difficult for him to do his job and damaged his reputation. Fitzgerald referred to an email Commissioner Jay Trost sent to Redwood Voice after Wegner’s complaint was made public, stating that the county director of operations is entitled to employee protections Wegner, an elected official, doesn’t have. “Jay Trost told you that it was an ongoing investigation, but you were comfortable destroying my life,” Fitzgerald told Redwood Voice. “I didn’t do any of those things, but you were happy to print them. It’s not really journalism. I mean, I’m not sure what it is, but it’s not the way that I was taught to do journalism.” According to the county’s press release, after receiving Wegner’s tort claim notice, the Board of Commissioners retained an outside attorney to act as assistant county counsel to keep Fitzgerald screened from “all matters relating to the elected official who submitted the complaint.” 9.25.25 PR Tort Claim ResolutionDownload Commissioners also directed the assistant county counsel to retain a third-party investigation firm to review the evidence both parties provided and conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations. Commissioners received the results of the investigation on Sept. 16. According to the press release, the investigation included numerous interviews, “a detailed review of over 400 pages of documentary evidence and a thorough assessment of witness testimony.” Though the firm is not named in the press release, Wegner told Redwood Voice in July that Trost had delivered a letter to her on June 2 stating that he and his colleagues hired Mountain Lakes Employment Investigations LLC to investigate her allegations against Fitzgerald. Since he was hired in 2022, Fitzgerald has served as the county director of operations, the road master and planning director, according to the county’s 2025-26 budget. Wegner has been the county assessor and tax collector for about three years. Her staff consists of four appraisers, a deputy appraiser, an assistant tax collector and a clerical assistant. On Monday, Wegner said that the investigator and county commissioners saw the texts Fitzgerald allegedly sent her. She also mentioned recall efforts against Trost and his colleague Patrick Hollinger. “Not one of those text messages are respectful, let alone professional,” Wegner said. “No employee or elected official should have to work in an environment where leadership supports such disrespectful behavior, and this is why I endorsed the recall.” A committee has been created to recall both Trost and Hollinger, according to Curry County jail commander Lt. Jeremy Krohn, who is the chief petitioner in the effort against Trost. Brookings resident Andre Bay is the chief petitioner in the recall effort against Hollinger. In his petition, Bay referred to Hollinger’s support of the Curry County director of operations, who, Bay says, has “interfered with the duties of independently elected officials like the County Sheriff and Tax Collector [sic].”The committee behind the recall efforts has until Oct. 27 to collect 1,902 signatures on each petition, Curry County Clerk Shelley Denney told Redwood Voice in August.