Two members of the Jefferson County Commission removed from office earlier this year accepted plea deals Friday.
In March, Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse were charged with 42 misdemeanors, including failure to perform official duties, after refusing to attend seven weeks of commission meetings in fall 2023.
Jackson and Krouse refused to attend the meetings because of a dispute over how to fill a vacant seat on the commission. This halted the commission’s operations because it was unable to meet quorum. Meanwhile, both commissioners still collected salaries and benefits.
The commissioners were removed from office for the incident in a May district court decision that was upheld by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in August.
On Friday, the commissioners both pleaded “no contest” to one count of failure to perform official duties, with the remaining 41 charges dismissed through a deal from Special Prosecutor John Ours. “No contest” means the commissioners did not admit guilt, but accepted consequences from the charge as if they were found guilty.
The commissioners were ordered to pay a $50 fine each, in addition to court costs.