Fire board president fined for no-bid payments to husband’s company
ELDON, Mo. (KMIZ)
The president of the board for a Miller County fire district has admitted to self-dealing after an investigation found she helped approve no-bid payments to a company her husband owns.
A Missouri Ethics Commission investigation found the Moreau Fire Protection District paid more than $27,000 to L&B Electronics, which is owned by the husband of board president Rebecca Wood, in 2017 and 2018, according to a consent order approved Thursday.
Wood and her husband, Lloyd Wood, were listed as joint owners of the company in state paperwork until 2014, when Lloyd Wood became the only registered owner, the commission found.
The ethics commission order says the fire district made several payments to the company for work performed without opening the work up to bidding. The order also says that Rebecca Wood seconded motions on some payments and voted in favor of each one.
State law prohibits public officers from being paid for work they perform for their political subdivision unless that work is part of their official duties unless their company is the lowest bidder.
The commission ordered Rebecca Wood to pay a $25,910 fine, though that amount would be reduced to $5,182 if paid within 45 days. She will have to pay the full fine if she commits another conflict-of-interest violation within two years.
