Stoddard County disputes claim of reports not being filed

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Townships in Stoddard County do report their financial statements regularly, a township treasurer told Stoddard County commissioners at their meeting Monday.

The reason for what became a heated discussion came from an Associated Press story which ran in several newspapers over the weekend. The story said less than 6 percent of townships in Missouri that administer road programs have complied with a state law requiring they file financial statements with the Missouri Department of Transportation. The story said none of Stoddard County's townships filed the reports.

Gaynel Fowler, treasurer for Pike Township, told commissioners Monday that she has filed the required financial statement every year she has held the office of treasurer.

Fowler provided a copy of a letter she had obtained from the Missouri state auditor's office which read that the financial statement from fiscal year 2001 had been received by the office and was being forwarded to MoDOT.

"And I've received one of these letters from the auditor's office every year since doing this job," Fowler said. "I'll bet if you contact the other townships in Stoddard County, they'll tell you the same thing."

Before the other townships could be reached for comment, Stoddard County Clerk Don White provided The Daily Statesman with copies of the financial reports from the townships.

What White's office provided showed the documents from the townships and road districts as having been apparently received and filed by the auditor's office. In the file with the original financial statements were letters from the auditor's office acknowledging receipt of the statements.

District 1 Commissioner Frank Sifford said the statute meant for the financial statements was an old one anyway.

"There's no enforcement to that statute," Sifford said. "If you file it, fine; if not, fine."

Sifford also said that, under Missouri law, MoDOT has no enforceable control over townships and has no say in the spending of funds within townships.