Update: new story 7-18: Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus – for a snafu in reporting votes in the state Supreme Court election – is coming under fire from county leaders again after an error made by her staff nearly cost the county $1 million.

The latest controversy surrounds a crucial letter that Waste Management Inc. sent to Nickolaus' office in May regarding the expansion of a landfill the company . The letter notifying the county of the expansion should have prompted the County Board to take action to join a local committee that will have oversight over the expansion. By joining the committee, the county also will receive $1 million from Waste Management over the next decade.

However, that May 9 letter was lost by someone in the clerk's office – even though it was delivered via certified mail and signed by someone in that office. After not hearing from the county, Waste Management on June 29 sent a second letter to the Nickolaus' office – and a copy to another county department. It was that department – not the clerk's office – that ultimately brought it to the County Board.

But by the time county supervisors received the letter, the July 10 deadline for joining the committee was just around the corner. So a hastily-called County Board meeting was held on July 8 – with supervisors showing up during the lunch hour to take action on joining the committee. County Board chairman: 'Another flaw' "The letter was forwarded to someone, but nobody in the clerk's office knew who that was," County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer said. "Yet again, it's another flaw in the process with that office."

County Supervisor Pat Haukohl said it appears to her the letter just got "lost in the shuffle" in the clerk's office when it came in. But she said a County Board committee on Monday is going to review the policies and procedures in the clerk's office.

"I can't place blame because I can't know for sure what happened because I wasn't there," Haukohl said. "But I will say that it should have definitely, definitely been forwarded. I'm concerned because a letter of that importance should have received prompt and immediate attention."

If the board hadn't approved the resolution on time, the county would have lost the ability to appoint two members to the committee, which negotiates and arbitrates with Waste Management about the landfill. The committee also deals concerns about ground water, well contamination and wear on county roads used by trucks going to the landfill.