State Auditor Rob Sand released a report on a special investigation in the city of Conesville, in which the auditor’s office found $65,929.88 of improper disbursements, $53,915.07 of uncollected and undeposited utility billings, and $7,667.30 of unsupported disbursements. These issues occurred between July 1, 2022 and April 30, 2024.
In a press conference Tuesday, Sand outlined how the discrepancies in city funds came to light when a replacement was hired after former city clerk Yamira Martinez left her position to start her own business. The new clerk discovered utility bills were not tracked properly, few revenue deposits were made in the city’s bank account, several payroll checks were missing, large quantities of checks were being made out to Martinez, large quantities of Amazon purchases were being made, and pension and tax withholding were not being submitted in a timely manner.
The city and the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office requested the auditor’s assistance in reviewing Conesville’s financial records.
The auditor’s findings were as follows, according to the report:
- $40,129.40 of improper payroll
- $7,545.28 of improper reimbursements issued to Martinez
- $12,409.39 of improper purchases made on the city’s credit card
- $700 of improper disbursements to vendors
- $4,533.10 of IRS penalties
- $612.71 of Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System penalties were issued
- $23,505.65 in unbilled utility charges
- $17,744.80 in undeposited utility charges
- $9,760.31 in utility account adjustments
Sand said this was why segregation of duties was important, a common blemish on the audits of rural cities due to small staff sizes, “We need to make sure that it isn’t one person who has the keys. … We want to be sure that our city and county officials, all of our elected officials are always saying, ‘Show us the bank accounts, we want to know what’s happening.’ We know that that can undermine a feeling of trust, but at the end of the day, it helps us lead others not into temptation. It helps them steer clear of doing this kind of thing and making off with taxpayer dollars.”
The report has been filed with the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa
Division of Criminal Investigation, the Muscatine County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. According to the Iowa Courts Online Electronic Docket Record Search, no charges have been filed against Martinez as of Tuesday afternoon.