Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday said state Auditor Rebecca Otto is right to appeal a court decision on the functions of her office to the Supreme Court.

“I think it’s a very important constitutional question that should be decided by the Supreme Court,” the DFL governor said.

The appeal stems from a 2015 law, passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, that allows counties to hire private auditors for financial reviews, rather than pay the Office of the State Auditor to perform the work. A Ramsey County District judge recently decided the law should be upheld and on Tuesday Otto said she plans to appeal the decision.

Dayton, a former state auditor, said before he signed a larger budget containing the private audit provision that he did not agree with the privatization. But he signed it anyway, so as not to veto all the other funding measures it contained.

Asked Thursday if he believes he signed an unconstitutional law, Dayton said, “It’s fine with me if they (the Supreme Court justices) decide that.”

Otto, a Democrat, said Thursday that she feels she must appeal the decision in order to uphold the constitutional duty of the state auditor’s office.

“This office belongs to the taxpayers and not to the Legislature… Auditing counties is a core constitutional duty of the office,” Otto. “I will not let this go. I must do everything I can to preserve this function on behalf of the people of Minnesota.”

The lawsuit has already cost the office more than $200,000, which Republicans say has been a waste of taxpayer money. Otto said the office will have to squeeze in other areas to pay for the suit.

Otto said her suit has nothing to do with possible 2018 gubernatorial ambitions.

“I don’t always do what’s popular, I do what I think is right regardless of the consequences. I consider myself a public servant which is not always worrying about the next election but really focusing on the next generation and doing what’s right,” she said.

Meanwhile, at least half of the state’s counties have expressed some interest in using private auditors to check their finances, rather than the state auditor’s services.

A review from the Office of the Legislative Auditor, a state office wholly different from Otto’s office, did not conclusively find that counties audited by CPA’s rather than the auditor received more efficient services.