Latest news with #ScottFitzpatrick
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
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Auditor Fitzpatrick takes legal action to obtain data for audit of Jackson County Assessment Department
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced on Wednesday that he has taken legal action to obtain the missing link needed to complete the audit of the Jackson County Assessment Department. Fitzpatrick filed a petition in the Circuit Court of Jackson County to enforce two subpoenas he issued on Feb. 24, 2025, to the Jackson County Assessor and to Data Cloud Solutions (DCS) – which is the vendor used by the department to house data that will help determine if drive-by assessments were performed in violation of state law. Woman says former firefighter sexually abused her, fears he will avoid punishment 'From the beginning we knew this data was critical to the audit and mandatory to answer the questions of Jackson County residents who have serious concerns about their rights being violated during the physical assessment process,' Auditor Fitzpatrick said in a news release. 'We began requesting this data in the very early stages of our work and have been given the run around the entire time.' He said the Jackson County Assessment Department claims they are unable to access the Mobile Assessor data created during the assessment of Jackson County property – and has placed the blame on Data Cloud Solutions, a third-party vendor. 'Data Cloud Solutions has been unwilling to provide the data to a client paying for their services, and has already ignored two subpoenas from our office,' Fitzpatrick said. 'Unfortunately for Data Cloud Solutions, we will fight until we have the truth for the people of Jackson County.' Fitzpatrick said that he and the State Auditor's Office initially requested data from Tyler Technologies in November 2023. After three requests to Tyler Technologies were ignored, he said the State Auditor's Office requested the data from the Jackson County Assessment Department in January 2024—only to receive a response that the department would need to reach out to Tyler Technologies about the data. After months passed and no data was provided, he said the State Auditor's Office issued a subpoena to the department on May 28, 2024, and again on Oct. 8, 2024. A representative from Tyler Technologies indicated the company gave Data Cloud Solutions the necessary permission to share the data with the Jackson County Assessment Department. However, after the department's request to obtain the data directly from Data Cloud Solutions failed, Fitzpatrick said he issued a third subpoena to the department on Feb. 24, 2025. From February 2024 through January 2025, he said Data Cloud Solutions ignored these requests. According to Fitzpatrick, the State Auditor's Office also issued subpoenas to Data Cloud Solutions in December 2024 and February 2025 – both of which were ignored. The audit of the Jackson County Assessment Department has been ongoing since Oct. 23, 2023. The audit was initiated at the request of the Jackson County Legislature, which passed a formal resolution authorizing the audit on Aug. 21, 2023. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Auditor Fitzpatrick released preliminary results to the people of Jackson County in December 2023 after his office discovered up to 200,000 homeowners in Jackson County were the victims of a flawed and inadequate assessment process that failed to comply with state law. He said his office 'continues to work to complete the audit of the department in spite of continued efforts made by the auditee to delay the process.'Jackson County likely to comply with latest order on assessments Three Jackson County legislators call on AG to investigate Frank White Missouri Tax Commission orders Jackson County to roll back 2023 assessments The latest in tug of war over Jackson County property tax assessments Jackson County leaders stand by 2023 property assessments despite state order Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State to audit Humansville for the first time after residents petition amid turmoil
For more than a year, the city of Humansville has been embroiled in multiple controversies, including concerns about misused funds. Residents of the small Polk County town have now gathered signatures required to request the State Auditor's Office conduct an audit to ensure the city is operating properly. While the Board of Alderman had previously voted to initiate a state audit themselves, the action failed when Mayor Tracy Mason broke the tie by voting against it. Residents then gathered 170 certified signatures to request the audit, above the required 135 signature threshold, according to an Auditor's Office news release. "With the numerous issues that have occurred in the city over the last year, and with allegations of missing money, it's important that we shine the light of truth and transparency on the city's government," State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said in the release. "We will do our best to give taxpayers a better understanding of the financial health and operational effectiveness of their city. If necessary, we will also provide recommendations to improve the performance of their government." This is the first time, according to the release, that the city will be audited by the Missouri State Auditor's Office. Fitzpatrick asked for patience during the process and encouraged those with any information to reach out through the Whistleblower Hotline at 800-347-8597, by email at moaudit@ or by visiting Two state investigations already have been conducted within the city government of Humansville. One, by the Missouri Secretary of State's Office, resulted in charges being filed against city employee Sophia Piper alleging election interference, although that case was dismissed right before a trial was set to begin in April due to witnesses failing to appear. The other investigation was conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol looking into misuse of public funds. While a representative from the MSHP confirmed in October the investigation was complete and forwarded to the Polk County Prosecutor's Office, no additional updates have emerged since. More: Stone County Developmental Disabilities Board didn't comply with state law, audit finds There is also plenty of other controversy involving former aldermen and city staff. In November, the city attorney sued former alderman Ashley Albright and two other women for defamation after Albright accused the attorney of sexual harassment. Prior to that, former alderman Robert Thomas filed a lawsuit against the city for alleged Sunshine Law violations. Both lawsuits are ongoing. Most recently, former Humansville police chief Ryan Snow filed a lawsuit against the city claiming his firing was illegal and the city still owed him wages. Snow played a role in initiating the state's investigations, which the lawsuit claims was a reason the city retaliated and dismissed him. Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@ This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Humansville to be audited amid turmoil after resident petition
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Residents successfully petition state to audit the City of Humansville
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced on Wednesday that a petition by Humansville residents has triggered an audit of the city's government concerning the misuse of funds. The Humansville community gathered 170 certified signatures to trigger a petition audit, well above the 135 signatures that were required. 'I want to thank the people of Humansville for taking the time and effort to collect the signatures necessary to initiate this petition audit. With the numerous issues that have occurred in the city over the last year, and with allegations of missing money, it's important that we shine the light of truth and transparency on the city's government,' said Auditor Fitzpatrick. The Missouri Auditor's Office says the City of Humansville has been the subject of state investigations regarding possible misuse of taxpayer funds and election interference in the past year. An alderman also filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that it violated the Sunshine Law. Former Humansville police chief sues city that fired him after blowing the whistle The Humansville Board of Aldermen tried to pass a resolution letting the State Auditor's office conduct an audit, but the resolution ultimately failed. 'We will do our best to give taxpayers a better understanding of the financial health and operational effectiveness of their city. If necessary, we will also provide recommendations to improve the performance of their government,' Auditor Fitzpatrick said. 'I urge everyone to be patient while we perform this intensive review of the operations of the city government and encourage anyone with information that may be helpful to our audit to reach out through our Whistleblower Hotline.' Individuals can provide confidential information for the auditor's office to consider during the audit by calling the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at 800-347-8597, by email at moaudit@ or online at the state auditor's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State auditor finds lacking transparency in Stone County Developmental Disability Board
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Stone County Developmental Disability Board needs to operate more transparently and improve compliance with state law, according to a report released Monday, April 28, by Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick. The audit gives the Board a rating of 'fair' and recommends improved compliance with the Missouri Sunshine Law. According to a news release from the state auditor's office, the audit report highlights that the Board's Operations and Finance committees 'did not always provide notice of the time, date and place of each meeting, and did not prepare or provide tentative agendas.' The report also says that without maintaining meeting minutes and providing public notice of Board committee meetings, the Board lacks an official record and there is no transparency regarding the actions taken during committee meetings. Missouri agencies warn of scam text posing as Missouri Department of Revenue Additionally, the report found the Board violated the Sunshine Law by discussing and voting to increase the Executive Director's salary from $90,000 to $125,000 annually in the December 21, 2023, closed meeting. 'It's disappointing to see the Board doesn't consistently comply with the provisions of the Sunshine Law and in doing so prevents the public from having an adequate level of access to, and knowledge of, Board committee decisions and actions,' said Fitzpatrick in the release. Fitzpatrick also said the Board disagreed with many of the report's findings, made an incorrect claim that it doesn't qualify as a political subdivision, and provided a response that seems to indicate the Board believes compliance with state law is not mandatory. In addition, the audit found the Board did not comply with state law when it procured a construction manager for the construction of a facility to house all Board operations. The Board solicited proposals from construction managers for the facility using the construction manager-at-risk method outlined in Missouri state law, and in March 2024, awarded a contract to a construction manager for a guaranteed maximum price of $2.75 million. 'Sharks' Helicopter Battalion reunion held in Branson However, Section 67.5050(2), RSMo, allows this procurement method only for building projects that exceed $3 million. According to the report, the Board disagrees with that finding and makes the claim that 'it is not a political subdivision and thus not subject to the relevant statute.' However, Auditor Fitzpatrick says by its own admission, the Board is clearly a political subdivision as it defines itself as such on its own official website. 'I hope this report shines some additional light on the operation of the Board for the taxpayers of Stone County and the numerous individuals who have questioned Board decisions in recent years,' said Fitzpatrick. The full audit report for the Stone County Developmental Disability Board is available . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arnold fights records release as part of state audit
ARNOLD, Mo. – A state audit of the City of Arnold heads to court as the city claims it is trying to protect confidential records. 'It's disappointing to me that the city is wasting taxpayer money by litigating this issue,' Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said. Attorney Bob Sweeney, who represents the city, says it has been more than compliant throughout the audit process. 'We've supplied thousands of pages of documents, spent scores of hours obtaining those documents and dozens of hours sitting down face to face,' he said. The audit has to do with taxpayer funding for transportation projects through what is called Transportation Development Districts (TDD). The auditor is looking at property owned by the TDD as well as the role city officials play while serving on TDD boards. 'When we developed this TDD, we required the property owners to put city officials on the TDD board so that the city officials would have some information and knowledge of what was going on and some say so,' Sweeney said. Hospice nurse accused of stealing checks from elderly victim The TDD had collected a tax for a parkway project to run along I-55 south of 141. But that plan was eventually put on hold after people petitioned against it. FOX 2's Chris Hayes reported last year that people wanted to know what was being done with property the city had already purchased for that project. Sweeney told FOX 2 on Wednesday that it is still looking at ways to complete the project without the portions that were objected to by residents. The auditor says he needs to see more documents from closed city council sessions. However, the City of Arnold has filed a temporary restraining order to try and block the release of unredacted, closed session meetings, citing concerns over significant liability, potential for fraud and loss of public trust for releasing confidential records. 'We access closed records all the time and meeting minutes that would not generally be open records to the public in the state auditor's office. It's a routine thing that we do,' Fitzpatrick said. The auditor is considering a counter claim if Arnold does not comply with a subpoena for the records. Sweeney said that is not necessary. He simply wants a judge to weigh in on if the unredacted records are subject to release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
