A state audit has found thousands of dollars in mishandled city money in the southeast Iowa town of Fairfield. State Auditor David Vaudt says an investigation of the Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department was requested after the city’s annual financial audit last year.
The Parks and Rec Director, Barry Dodd, was placed on administrative leave on April 8, before he resigned on April 30. Vaudt’s office identified over $12,500 of undeposited collections between January 1 of 2007 and April 8 of 2008. The collections were identified by comparing information recorded by the Parks and Rec Department to deposits made to the City’s Finance Department.
In addition, the audit found nearly $16,000 was deposited to the City’s Finance Department for Parks and Rec, but was not recorded in the collection log prepared by Parks and Recreation. Vaudt is recommending that the city improve the Parks and Recreation Department’s internal operations by requiring segregation of duties and proper documentation for collections.
The report has been filed with the Division of Criminal Investigation, Fairfield Police, the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.
You can view the full report here .