JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released an audit of the Clay County Public Administrator. The report, which gave an overall rating of “good,” is the third to be released as part of the citizen-mandated audit of Clay County. Previously released audits of the County Clerk and the County Recorder gave the same rating.
“The citizens of Clay County sought this independent audit to provide answers about how their tax dollars were being used,” Auditor Galloway said. “Audits can help government officials in better serving their constituents, and the Public Administrator responded that her office is moving forward to address the one finding of this report.”
The audit found the Public Administrator’s office did not maintain sufficient documentation to support some of the cash disbursements that were reviewed. The full report on the Clay County Public Administrator can be found here.
The audit of Clay County was initiated after a citizen petition was submitted to the State Auditor’s Office and then verified to have more than the minimum 5,590 signatures of county residents who are registered voters. The audit began in December 2018.
In January 2019, the Clay County Commission sued to prevent the Auditor from conducting the citizen-mandated audit. An Oct. 24, 2019, court ruling confirmed the Auditor’s legal authority to conduct performance audits and dismissed the County Commission’s lawsuit against the Auditor. County Commission officials have failed to fulfill records requests, resulting in Auditor Galloway issuing subpoenas on Nov. 8 and Nov. 22 to require documents and testimony.
On Dec. 4, the State Auditor’s Office filed in Clay County court to demand compliance with the subpoenas. The case is moving through the court.
Audit work is ongoing for other Clay County offices.
