The state auditor’s office has reviewed the checking account for the ambulance service in a small eastern Iowa town and is raising questions about more than $13,550 worth of spending and undeposited cash.

Karen Boege was the secretary/treasurer for the City of Garwin Ambulance Service. Her husband, Steve, was the president. According to the auditor’s report, Karen Boege made more than $3200 worth of “improper” cash withdrawals from the ambulance service checking account and nearly $1400 worth of “improper” purchases at Wal-Mart over a four-and-a-half year period. Auditors say there were no bills, receipts or other documents to show why checks were being written.

City officials in Garwin asked for the state auditor’s office to investigate after Boege paid a personal bill with a check from the Ambulance Service account. The investigation found Boege “withheld” $350 in cash from a deposit into the Ambulance Service checking account in the fall of 2012, but State Auditor Mary Mosiman says it’s “not possible to determine” if more money was “improperly dispersed or if collections were not properly deposited because adequate records were not available.”

Garwin is located in Tama County — about 15 miles northwest of the city of Tama — and it has about 525 residents.