Report says former Cass County Auditor improperly spent county money

A state auditor’s report released Wednesday shows the former Cass County assessor was reimbursed more than 26-hundred dollars for mileage to events that she did not attend. Linda Campbell of Atlantic resigned as county assessor in June and was arrested in July after officials found her mileage expenses had increased. The audit examined her spending from 1998 to 2003. State Auditor David Vaudt says his office confirmed the reports by calling organizers of events to see if Campbell had actually attended. State officials say they found many of the dates didn’t match. Officials also used casino players cards which store data about a person’s gambling activity at casinos to see if Campbell was in a casino instead of the office. Dates of casino visits were also checked against dates of gas purchases that were made with a county credit card. Campbell has admitted that she used a county credit card to pay for gas for her personal car. She also admitted to using a county van to travel to casinos. The auditor’s report recommends the county make changes to their current reimbursement policy, including requiring supporting documentation before any reimbursements are made.