Auditor: Dunklin County public administrator misused funds on pet supplies, vacation expenses

KENNETT, Mo. — Before a full house at the OAKS Nutrition Center in Kennett, Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway delivered a public presentation on the results of an audit that led to the resignation of Dunklin County’s public administrator.

Shawnee Trowbridge resigned March 1 after she admitted to the auditor’s office she misspent money entrusted to her.

Red flags about the public administrator’s office arose as Galloway’s team was conducting the regular county audit. A public administrator is an elected county official whose duties include handling finances for adults, called wards, who cannot care for themselves.

“When my staff began reviewing the files of the Dunklin County public administrator, they noticed a few things that seemed off. They started to dig a little deeper. What we found was a pattern of misuse of funds, entrusted to the public administrator,” Galloway said.

Galloway noted the pattern rose to such a level as to separate the public-administrator audit from the rest of the county’s offices and get law enforcement involved.

“My audit found that Ms. Trowbridge misused funds entrusted to her in ways that were irresponsible and inappropriate. During the course of the audit, Ms. Trowbridge admitted under oath (July 28, 2015) to inappropriately spending at least $250 from one account she was entrusted to oversee. Auditors discovered another $550 of suspicious purchases made from an additional three accounts,” she said.

Trowbridge bought gift cards from Wal-Mart from the accounts she was overseeing and used them to make purchases for herself and her family members.

“There were purchases of pet supplies, including a dog sweater, bird toys, dog and cat food from accounts of individuals who did not have pets. The former public administrator admitted to having those pets. Fuel was purchased from accounts from individuals who did not own any vehicles, and several purchases were made in Florida from the account of an individual who had not been to Florida during that period, while Ms. Trowbridge had made a trip to Florida at the times those funds were misspent,” Galloway said.

According to the audit report, the gift-card purchases in question occurred in 2013 and 2014.

Trowbridge entered into an agreement with the Missouri Attorney General’s office and repaid $800 in misused funds. That, plus her resignation, is appropriate, Galloway said.

“When public officials misuse their positions for personal gain, they must be held accountable. A public official entrusted to manage someone else’s money must draw a clear line between what is their money and what is someone else’s,” she said.

There also is a deferred prosecution agreement, meaning if other issues are found in the future, she could be prosecuted.

Auditors also found the administrator did not maintain adequate supporting documentation for payments made from wards’ bank accounts.

“Best practices would say that if you’re going to issue money, get a signed receipt so you can show what happened when you issue that check and where that money went. That didn’t happen, so that raises questions,” Galloway said.

Some questions surround $2,000 worth of checks to Wal-Mart from wards’ accounts.

“Those records do not include receipts or any other kind of supporting documentation, which calls into question the validity of those purchases,” she said.

Another problem was although Trowbridge prepared annual settlement statements that were filed with the circuit court, the statements were not always filed in a timely manner or accurately.

In addition, the court did not have a system in place to monitor and ensure accurate and timely filing of settlements.

The public administrator’s office received an overall performance rating of poor.

“This means we will return later in the year to follow up on our recommendations to make sure everything is straightened out in the public administrator’s office,” Galloway.

Galloway said she believes because Trowbridge has resigned, the follow-up will be much more positive.

The replacement for Trowbridge is the responsibility of Gov. Jay Nixon. His office told the Daily Dunklin Democrat on Wednesday the replacement process is underway, and an appointment should come soon.

Deputy public administrator Cheryl Byrd has the responsibility for the office in the interim.