A report issued by the State Auditor’s Office on a review of employee travel expenses for Cass County personnel and elected officials determined some officials used County credit cards improperly and a county employee was doing non-beneficial work on County time.  The review was for the period of July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016 and was conducted as a result of citizen concerns regarding the frequency of County Treasurer Tracey Marshall’s travel and certain purchases made using a County credit card.

The review determined County-issued credit cards were used to purchase items not related to County business. County Treasurer Tracey Marshall used the County credit card assigned to her to make purchases for the National Association of County Collectors, Treasurers, and Finance Officers (NACCTFO) and the National Tax Lein Association (NTLA). Of the $16,972.07 of payments on Ms. Marshall’s County Credit card, $3,982.91 were issued directly to the credit card vendor by NACCTFO for purchases on its behalf.  Marshall also issued a payment directly to the creditor totaling $513.24 for purchases she made on behalf of NTLA.

County Veteran Affairs Commission Executive Director Mitch Holmes also used the County credit card for personal purchases but  issued payment directly to the creditor for those purchases.

The County credit card policy specifies that County cards may not be used for purposes other than County expenses such as fuel, meals during overnight travel, lodging, and equipment purchases.  The review also determined that supporting documentation is not always provided or required for employee travel expenses submitted for reimbursement.

Of the $42, 847.83 of travel expenses reviewed $1,334.39 of improper and unsupported disbursements were identified. Of that amount, $590.53 was improper disbursements and includes $251 of personal hotel expenses, $175 of guest registration fees for County Attorney Dave Weiderstein’s family at County Attorneys Spring Training Conferences, and $132.40 for excess miles claimed by certain County personnel. The remaining $743.86 is considered to be unsupported disbursements and includes primarily lodging expenses and mileage reimbursements for which the destination and/or purpose of the trip were not documented.

Additionally the review found that an employee within the Treasurer’s Office processed numerous financial transactions and maintained accounting records for NACCTFO during regular business hours at the instruction of Treasurer Marshall.  This is determined as an improper use of County resources because that work does not provide a direct benefit to the county. A Treasurer’s Office employee should not be fulfilling duties committed to by Marshall.

Recommendations were made by the State Auditor to strengthen the County’s internal controls and overall operations, such as ensuring County-issued credit cards are used only for County business, ensuring all County purchases are properly supported with original, detailed receipts or invoices, and ensuring the County Board of Supervisors reviews supporting documentation for expenditures on a periodic basis.

Copies of the report have been filed with the Cass County Board of Supervisors and is available for review in the Office of Auditor of State and on the Auditor of State’s website: http://auditor.iowa.gov/reports/1610-0015-BE00