KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri auditor Nicole Galloway released her long-awaited audit of Clay County Wednesday, rating the county’s operations as “poor.”
A summary of the 162-page report outlined 11 specific areas, ranging from board meetings to contract approvals, as well as compensation policies and procurement procedures.
"Today, the citizens of Clay County are finally getting the answers they have sought for years," Galloway said in a release. "Two former county commissioners actively worked to prevent taxpayers from seeing how their money was being spent, not only by trying to impede this audit but by regularly conducting public business outside public view. I appreciate the cooperation of the current Commission in bringing this audit to completion and their willingness to implement our recommendations."
Galloway is set to discuss her audit Wednesday afternoon in Liberty.
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In the audit, Galloway noted that her rating of “poor” - the worst category possible, applies to the county as a whole and not necessarily any specific person or office.
“Because counties are managed by several separately-elected individuals, an audit finding made with respect to one office does not necessarily apply to the operations in another office,” Galloway wrote. “The overall rating assigned to the county is intended to reflect the performance of the county as a whole. It does not indicate the performance of any one elected official or county office.”
The audit stems from a 2019 request from citizens after questions surrounding financial records arose. The path from that 2019 request to Wednesday’s release included subpoenas from Galloway’s office and requests for delays by county officials.
In the audit, Galloway sited several areas of concern:
- A project for the Clay County Annex did not include discussion of important decisions and procurement policies.
- Compensation agreements that at times did not comply with certain IRS regulations regarding fringe benefits. The audit also called into question severance packages.
- “The county did not fully comply with the Sunshine Law regarding closed commission meetings.”
- Pay rates and job titles for county employees didn’t follow county policies and plans.
- The county had inadequate procedures in certain contracting and payment procedures.
- Proposals for professional services were not solicited as called for by county code.
- Certain expenditures may not have been a prudent, reasonable or necessary use of taxpayer funds.
- Parks office staff varied change funds, and discounts for fees at Smithville Lake were not consistent to county ordinances.
- The county’s information technology policies don’t have plans for recovery following a disaster or “extraordinary situations.”
- “The County Auditor was unable to review county contracts. The County Auditor did not perform complete annual inventories of county-owned property.”
- County boards did not always prepare or approve meeting minutes and other budget requirements.
Clay County resident Jason Withington started the petition to call for the audit in 2018. He said Wednesday's final report is a long time coming.
"It's going to be a new day for Clay County," Withington said.
Withington said he ultimately would have liked to see former commissioners behind bars. However, the audit found no criminal activity.
"The whole point of this audit from the very beginning was just to restore our faith and trust in our county government, and I think this is going to go a long way to doing that," Withington said.
Withington said it is time for citizens to put the issue behind them and move forward. He feels hopeful for the future with the current commissioners who say they are committed to maintaining an accountable government in Clay County.
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