Rend Lake water district head fired

WHITTINGTON, Ill. -- The general manager of a conservancy that supplies water to much of Southern Illinois was fired Monday for allegedly mishandling nearly $500,000 of the conservancy's money on items such as membership to an upscale athletic club and repairs to his pleasure boat.

The seven-member board that oversees the Rend Lake Conservancy District voted 6-1 to fire Kevin Davis after a report from an independent auditor, said Terry Black, the board's attorney. He declined to comment further.

Davis' attorney, Shari Rhode, said her client is innocent of any wrongdoing and isn't finished fighting for his job. She declined to discuss whether Davis planned to appeal his firing in court.

The Rend Lake Conservancy District oversees the water supply to 60 cities and towns in far Southern Illinois, and manages a resort, golf course and condominium complex on the 19,000-acre Rend Lake in Franklin and Jefferson counties.

An audit of the district's financial records suggested Davis, who has headed the 48-year-old conservancy since 1994, received more than $200,000 over the years in what he allegedly called an "allowance" above his salary without board approval. He "instructed" the comptroller to pay him the money with his regular salary, the report said.

The report, conducted in February and March by the St. Louis consultancy BSW Litigation and Valuation Services, also said Davis received more than $145,000 in reimbursements over the years for things such as a membership to the Missouri Athletic Club.

and repairs to his pontoon boat, without documenting the expenses with receipts or explaining what they had to do with Rend Lake business.

He also allegedly charged thousands of dollars in clothing purchases to a district credit card and paid more than $100,000 in bonuses and raises to staff without the board's knowledge, the audit said.

The report called these transactions, and others, potentially improper.

"We have concluded that Davis managed the district's financial affairs as if it were his own business," said auditor Donald Mitchell of BSW in the report.

But Rhode, Davis' lawyer, said the audit merely points out "potential" wrongdoing, and the board should not form the basis of firing a longtime employee without giving him a hearing first.

Davis had served as comptroller for the district for 20 years before getting the top job.

"Those findings aren't conclusions," said Rhode. "(Audits) identify areas of concern that could be a problem," rather than conduct investigations and render blame.

She said the board never gave Davis the opportunity to answer the allegations.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill authorizing the Auditor General to conduct its own audit of the conservancy district, but that bill must pass the Senate before the office conducts a probe, said Barb Gossrow, who handles audits for the Auditor General's Office in Springfield.