A judge ruled in 2015 that the assessor had to comply with the county's ethics ordinance and the board of ethics had the authority to investigate the assessor. But the ruling also said the ordinance did not authorize the board to impose fines. County taxpayers wound up paying a total of about $300,000 to cover both sides of the legal battle, records show, and county commissioners passed a new ordinance giving the board the power to levy fines in the future.