JEFFERSON CITY — A whistleblower complaint alleging fiscal mismanagement by the former Ste. Genevieve County Public Administrator Robin Naeger has led to an audit report released Wednesday by State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick that gives the office a rating of “poor.”
The new report details how Naeger failed to accurately document $2,724 in disbursements for her wards, and neglected to maintain accurate bank reconciliations or consistently file annual settlements in a timely fashion.
“As former public administrator (Naeger) was responsible for as many as 52 wards and more than three-quarters of a million dollars of their assets, it was important that she have proper internal controls in place to guard against mismanagement. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and our report points out the deficiencies that existed in an office that failed to operate in an efficient and accountable fashion,” said Auditor Fitzpatrick. “Thankfully the current public administrator (Amanda Kuehn) has worked in good faith with our audit team to address these shortcomings and has already made significant progress to implement our recommendations.”
Current Public Administrator Amanda Kuehn released this statement regarding the audit’s conclusion.
I am happy the State Audit is completed,” she told the Sun Times News Online in an email. “It has been a long process since I was appointed on March 17, 2022 but I am satisfied with the Auditors findings. I have worked diligently in getting the office back to where it should be and to facilitate the needs of my clients to provide them with the best care and service possible. That has always been and will always be my primary goal. I will continue to work for my clients day and night as their advocate.”
Ste. Genevieve County Presiding Commissioner Randy Ruzicka said “based on the findings released by the State Auditor’s office regarding the audit of the Public Administrator’s Office…it was an unfortunate time in the history of that office. The findings are the result of an independent impartial investigation and speak for themselves.”
The audit report focuses primarily on the period of time from January 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022, which makes up the majority of the time that Robin Naeger served as Ste. Genevieve County Public Administrator.
As Public Administrator, she was responsible for the financial activity of approximately 44 wards with assets totaling approximately $514,000 as of January 1, 2021, and approximately 52 wards with assets totaling approximately $778,000 as of January 1, 2022.
The audit details how Naeger failed to retain adequate supporting documentation for disbursements, totaling $2,724, from seven of 29 ward bank accounts that were reviewed.
The former Public Administrator did not maintain supporting documentation for 20 questionable and unsupported disbursements from six ward bank accounts totaling $2,168.
Thirteen of the disbursements, totaling $1,898, were made to Wal-Mart and the remaining seven disbursements, totaling $270, were made to other retail and online stores. For another ward, Naeger did not maintain supporting documentation for three reimbursements, totaling $263, that were made to Naeger herself, and another three, totaling $293, made to the mother of the ward. Without adequate documentation, there was nothing to indicate what was purchased and to demonstrate the purchases were necessary for the wards.
The report also finds Naeger did not file annual settlements on time.
A review of all 55 annual settlements filed for the period of January 1, 2021, through March 17, 2022, found Naeger did not file any by the due date.
She filed 45 of the settlements between 30 and 182 days late, and filed the other 10 annual settlements less than 30 days after the due date. The audit report also notes that for 29 filings reviewed by the State Auditor’s Office, Naeger had 63 bank reconciliations that were either missing or inaccurate out of 134 monthly reconciliations that should have been filed.
A final finding in the report highlights the inadequate protections for the Public Administrator’s computers and data.
The audit began as a result of a Whistleblower Hotline contact that alleged fiscal mismanagement within the Ste. Genevieve County Public Administrator’s office.
The complaint led to an initial investigation conducted by the State Auditor’s Office that determined further investigation was warranted.
The SAO then notified the Ste. Genevieve County Commission in February 2023, that the office would conduct an audit of the Public Administrator.
The complete audit is available at: