FAIRVIEW, Mo. – The Missouri Auditor gives the City of Fairview a “Poor” rating for its overall performance.
State Auditor Nicole Galloway started the audit in 2021 at the request of the City’s residents. They requested the audit through the petition process.
“My audits examine how public resources are used, detail any concerns about how government operates and make recommendations on how taxpayers can be better served,” Auditor Galloway said.
Under Missouri law, the State Auditor’s office may be called on to audit a political subdivision of the state if enough qualified voters of that entity request the audit. The petition audit from Fairview residents required 67 signatures.
In her audit of the City of Fairland, Galloway found overpayments, improper use of City funds and conflicts of interest.
“The former City Clerk was overpaid $3,351, and the Board improperly spent $120,252 of restricted funds from a city trust fund. The city paid $17,325 to a business that a former Mayor managed and owned in violation of city code related to conflicts of interest, and some of the checks issued to the former Mayor’s business were dated prior to the date of the related invoice,” states the audit.
Other issues found include:
- Lack of payroll controls and procedures
- Not always soliciting bids or proposals as required by city code
- Not always entering into written contracts
- Making adjustments to customer accounts, including writing off charges caused by water leaks or incorrect meter readings, without obtaining independent approval or maintaining adequate documentation to support the reason for the adjustment
- Not adequately monitoring budget-to-actual receipts and disbursements
- The Board didn’t comply with the Sunshine Law for 7 out of 8 closed meetings in 2020
- Lack of maintaining records for capital assets
You can read the full audit report, including other issues found, below. Or, click here.
If you would like to provide information for consideration in any audit, you can contact the State Auditor’s Whistleblower Hotline at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or by calling 800-347-8597. You can also submit concerns anonymously online at auditor.mo.gov/hotline.
Fairview, Mo. Audit – Improper use of City funds, conflicts of interest
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