03/01/2017
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway credits new board members and employees for their commitment to improving the embattled Buck Prairie Special Road District. Auditor Galloway sent a team of auditors to the Lawrence County city of Marionville to check on progress to district operations and management practices. The review comes six months after an audit revealed $65,000 dollars in inappropriate spending and payments.
"When I released the results of this audit the board made a commitment to making improvements and putting safeguards in place to protect against the kind of reckless spending and inappropriate use of tax dollars we uncovered," Auditor Galloway said. "Since that time six former board members and employees face criminal charges and the new board has started the hard work of repairing the damage and restoring the trust of the people."
Last summer Auditor Galloway met with citizens in Marionville to discuss the results of the audit, which found the road district's financial condition suffered as a result of overspending, lax controls and little oversight by the board commissioners.
The new board has set rules into place against self-dealing and conflicts of interest, which were identified as concerns during the 2016 audit. More than $20,000 worth of hauling services were purchased from and paid to the board foreman and his business. Another $5,000 worth of services were paid directly from a commissioner to his wife.
The 2016 audit found employees of the road district were allowed to make personal purchases with district charge accounts, operating on a honor system to reimburse the district, and thereby avoiding paying sales tax. In one example, an employee used district funds to purchase tires for his personal vehicle and only reimbursed the district after being questioned about the purchase by local law enforcement officers. The follow-up review found the board has set new rules to prevent this from occurring in the future.
After the audit was released, Lawrence County Prosecutor Don Trotter filed Class C Felony charges against six individuals for 23 separate counts of receiving stolen property, including submitting for and receiving thousands of dollars' worth of inappropriate payments from the district. The cases are still pending.
A complete copy of the report is online here.
