According to the criminal complaints, Williams accepted full-time employee benefits, such as vacation and paid sick leave, even though she knew she was not working the required number of hours to be considered full time. Williams also issued Christmas bonus checks to herself for amounts greater than what had been approved by the city council. She also knowingly published city expenditures in a public notice in a newspaper that were not accurate and concealed unpaid federal taxes, according to court documents.

Williams resigned in March, before the results of the auditor’s investigation were announced in April. The criminal complaints were filed against her in August following an investigation by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation found nearly $32,000 in improper disbursements.

The investigation covered the period from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2013. Williams became city clerk on May 17, 2004. According to the auditor’s investigation, Williams was paid $15,857 in improper vacation, sick leave and holiday pay, $702 of improper payroll due to double-counted hours and a $460 payout which could not be identified as vacation or sick leave. There were also thousands of dollars in improper vacation and sick leave payouts, and improper bonuses to her and another employee, who also no longer works for the city.

Mills County Attorney Tricia McSorley said Monday that the other person will not be charged. The paper says the city also owed the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, penalties and interest totaling $73,826 as of the end of last year. The city took a loan to pay it.