Auditor Galloway discovers gaps in office of Benton County Public Administrator

The Benton County public administrator’s office has been given a rating of “poor” after Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released an audit on Thursday.

The public administrator had several thousand dollars paid to the public administrator’s family members from the accounts of wards in her care, among other concerning transactions.

“Conflicts of interest, or even the appearance of a conflict of interest, is unacceptable in public office.” Auditor Galloway said. “Individuals depend on the public administrator to make decisions that are in their best interest, which means safeguards must exist in order to protect the individuals who depend on those services.” .

A follow up report will be issued later this year. You can read the entire audit report here.