A state audit of the Creston-based Southern Iowa Council of Governments has uncovered billing problems in the agency. The Southern Iowa Council of Governments was established in 1987 and serves Adair, Adams, Clarke, Decatur, Madison, Ringgold, Taylor and Union counties. The audit reviewed the council’s records for the fall of 2003 through the fall of 2007.
Auditors found bills submitted for the Council work on community development block grants “were not supported by actual hours recorded on employees’ timesheets.” The council’s executive director says the bills were based on estimates.
According to the state auditor, the Council may be racking up “excessive interest charges” on a line of credit at a local bank. The council established the line of credit to pay local contractors for their work within three or four weeks rather than waiting for the various levels of government to approve and pay those contractors’ bills.
The audit reviewed council work on grants to the cities of Osceola, Orient, Tingley, Creston and Diagonal. The auditor says contractors doing work for the council should be listing material and labor costs on the bills they submit. Many of the bills the auditor reviewed just listed a dollar amount, with no information about what work was done.