Topeka ? Atty. Gen. Phill Kline is seeking the removal of Brown County’s treasurer after filing criminal charges against her and accusing her of submitting false expense vouchers.

Treasurer Deborah Roland was not in her office Wednesday at the Brown County Courthouse in Hiawatha. No one answered the telephone at her home, and the Brown County District Court clerk’s office said no attorney was on record as representing her.

Kline said the charge arose from a review of vouchers from various Brown County offices, during which discrepancies were noted in several vouchers turned in by Roland for reimbursement of travel expenses.

She remained free on bond. Her first appearance in district court is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 12.

On Wednesday, Kline’s office filed one felony count each of criminal misconduct and making false information, then filed a petition asking the district court to remove her from office. Kline also asked the court to suspend Roland while the cases are pending.

The prison term for misconduct is five to 17 months and, for false information, seven to 23 months. However, Kansas sentencing laws assume a first-time offender will receive probation. The potential fine for each count is $100,000.

Roland is the second county treasurer to face an attempted ouster this year. In Shawnee County, Treasurer Rita Cline resigned in March after Dist. Atty. Robert Hecht accused her of misusing funds and sought to remove her from office.

At issue are four vouchers Roland submitted this year and last year, reimbursing her for a total of $711.52 in expenses for attending events sponsored by the Kansas County Treasurers Assn. In his ouster complaint, Kline contends Roland acknowledged she never attended the events.

“The confidence of the citizens of Brown County in the Treasurer’s Office is certainly more in jeopardy than the coffers of Brown County,” said Kline spokesman Whitney Watson. “But when the law is violated, it’s the job of the attorney general to enforce the law, and that’s what we’re doing in this case.”