Lehner Lies!

Each item below is something Scott Lehner said in public, followed by what the city's own documents say. Nothing here is opinion. Click any time stamp to hear him say it, and any link to read the page.

1. "I was hearing it for the first time"

He said, October 13, 2026, about the power the industrial park needs: "That's how I looked last week and today when I was hearing it for the first time" 41:41.

The record. The EDA minutes of July 22, 2025 list "City Administrator Scott Lehner" in attendance when Sweet Cut Grow, a cannabis cultivator, pitched the industrial park (August 12, 2025 packet, pp. 130-131). The August 26, 2025 EDA minutes list him again for the next update (September 9, 2025 packet). On December 9, 2025, with him present, the council approved the sale of that lot. The agreement says: "The Authority represents that primary electric distribution infrastructure is installed and is available to the Development Property" (December 9, 2025 packet, p. 55).

2. "I should have been included"

He said, October 13, 2026: "I should have been included in those conversations a long time ago" 45:20.

The record. At his first meeting, January 14, 2025, he asked the council to bring the utility under the city. On May 13, 2025 the council approved the "Administrative Staff Supervision Agreement to Include KMU," which put the utility's staff under the administrator (June 10, 2025 packet). In November 2025 he presented the utility's CMPAS power purchase to the council himself (December 9, 2025 packet). He was included. He asked to be in charge, and he was put in charge.

3. "It's on the city"

He said, October 13, 2026, asked who pays for the transformer and the rest: "It's on the city" 43:23.

The record. KMU's written rules: "KMU's standard policy allows for up to two times the annual expected revenue to be expended on providing a new service. Any cost in excess of this is defined as 'excess facilities' which the customer will be expected to pay as a prerequisite of service" (KMU rules). No agreement changing that has come before the council.

4. "In the negative for the last three years"

He said, October 13, 2026, about the electric utility: it has been "in the negative for the last three years" 1:33:49.

The record. The city's own budget reports show the electric fund ahead $906,952 in 2023, behind $123,749 in 2024, and ahead $160,311 in 2025 (October 14, 2025 packet, p. 110; October 13, 2026 packet, p. 81). Two of the three years made money. The same night, the council lent $350,000 out of that fund to the EDA.

5. "It was with one person"

He said, asked who dropped the ball: "I'm not going to point fingers" 44:35, then, "I can say it was with one person" (Kenyon Leader, October 21, 2026). The council member asking took him to mean Randy Eggert, the utility superintendent the council separated on September 21.

The record. No document in the council record gives the industrial park's power to Eggert or to anyone else. The one document that says who supervises the utility's staff is the May 2025 agreement, and it names the administrator.

6. "Pretty much a wash"

He said, July 14, 2026, asked whether an in-house finance director would cost less than the Abdo accounting firm: "pretty much a wash" 1:25:31.

The record. His own numbers, eleven months earlier: Abdo "could come in at around $200,000, compared to around $130,000 for the cost of having a full time finance director" (Kenyon Leader, August 2025). That is a $70,000 gap, by his own count.

7. $130,000 became $167,100

He said, August 12, 2025: "130 to $135,000 a year is what that position is costing the city, all benefits and everything" 44:18.

The record. His office's staff report of September 8, 2026 put the same job at $167,100 (September 8, 2026 packet, p. 239). Nobody had been hired in between. The report lists wages at "approximately $90,000," but the city's posted rate on the same page, $40.45 an hour, comes to $84,136 a year.

8. "Way over the top," then "capable"

He said, August 2025, explaining why the city needed the firm: "This is way over the top" for the office staff (Kenyon Leader).

The record. Two weeks later, on August 26, 2025, the minutes say he opened the budget work session by correcting the paper: "He emphasized that city staff is capable of covering the finance director's duties" (August 26, 2025 minutes). The draft levy that night was up 27.06 percent.

9. "That's a closed meeting"

He said, August 6, 2026, when a council member asked whether the city needs its $55,053-a-year economic development contract: talking about it would be a performance discussion for a closed meeting 55:09.

The record. Minnesota Statute 13D.05, subdivision 3(a), says a council "may close a meeting to evaluate the performance of an individual who is subject to its authority." "May" is not "must." The man in that job works for CEDA, not the city. The cost of a city contract is public business, and the council votes on this one every December in open session.

10. "Work for utilities for 30 years"

He said, October 13, 2026, telling the council why he can take on the electric utility's planning himself: "You have a city administrator, fortunately or unfortunately, however you want to look at it, that before he was in the public sector, things uh work for utilities for 30 years" 41:41.

The record. His own LinkedIn profile lists one utility employer: CenterPoint Energy, a natural gas company, from June 1993 to December 2021. That is 28 years and 7 months, not 30. The first four and a half of those years were in sales. His supervisor and area manager years, December 1997 to December 2021, add up to 24. The same profile calls them "nearly 30 years working in public utility operations."

Introducing himself to Nowthen in 2022, he wrote: "I have spent nearly 30 years in the private sector with the majority of those years working for a gas utility company" (Nowthen newsletter, 2022). His profile shows no other private employer. The same newsletter says he "spent five years in the United States Army"; the profile lists April 1988 to April 1992, four years and one month.

None of it was electric. Kenyon Municipal Utilities is an electric and water utility.

11. Two jobs at once

He says, on his LinkedIn profile: "Nowthen City Administrator, City of Nowthen, Full-time, Aug 2022 - Jul 2025," and "Kenyon City Administrator, CITY OF KENYON, Full-time, Dec 2024 - Present."

The record. The Kenyon City Council hired him on November 7, 2024 (minutes), and he went on Kenyon's payroll December 14, 2024 (record). By his own profile, he held two full-time city administrator jobs for seven months, December 2024 through July 2025. Either that is true, or the profile is not.

12. The move to Kenyon

He agreed, when he was hired: the council's minutes say the one change he asked for in his contract was more time to move. "The city would extend the relocation time from 1 year and six months to 24 months" (November 12, 2024 packet, p. 12).

The record. Almost two years later, his LinkedIn profile gives his location as Claremont, Minnesota. The 24 months run out in November or December 2026, depending on whether the clock started at the November 7 vote or the December 14 start date. The employment agreement itself has not been posted; it was requested on October 15.

What he has claimed with no document

• A contract "sent out on July 2nd of this year" that drew "no response and no signatures" 39:26. Not in any packet.
• A transformer "on the upwards of a million dollars" 39:01. No written estimate.
• A substation at "$3 to $5 million" 41:16. No written estimate.
• "Excel Energy is going to be bringing power to us" 40:47. The state's 2023 and 2025 transmission reports list no Xcel project for Kenyon (2025 report).

All of it is public data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It was requested on October 15, 2026. The full account of the October 13 meeting is in the industrial park article.