Dallas County governmental operations now being reviewed by State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick is on his way to Dallas County and his message for the people of what was once known as Niangua County is that he "won't go away" until county operations have been thoroughly reviewed. Fitzpatrick announced a regularly scheduled performance audit of the county commenced during a meeting with county officials on Monday, March 2.

"Much has changed in the world since 1965 when Thomas Hart Benton completed his iconic 'County Politics' painting that featured the old Dallas County Courthouse, but what hasn't changed is the need for county government to perform in a manner that is efficient, effective, and makes responsible use of taxpayer dollars," said Auditor Fitzpatrick. "We will spend the coming months reviewing the various county offices with the goal of making sure they are transparent, accountable, and free from potential waste, fraud, or abuse. We encourage anyone who may have tips that would be helpful to our audit team to contact our Whistleblower Hotline."

The Missouri State Auditor's Office last released a performance audit of Dallas County in 2019. The audit gave the county a "good" rating but also highlighted concerns with accounting procedures in several county offices, including the Sheriff, Public Administrator and Recorder of Deeds. The audit found the Sheriff's office didn't have adequate procedures for recording, depositing and disbursing inmate money, and that records of sales of e-cigarettes were not accurately documented. The audit also found the Public Administrator did not have adequate documentation for fees assessed to wards and estates, and the Recorder of Deeds did not maintain an accurate check register balance or prepare adequate bank reconciliations. 

Individuals may provide information confidentially for consideration during the audit of Dallas County to the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at 800-347-8597, by email at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov, or by visiting www.auditor.mo.gov/hotline.