Auditor: Nearly $20,000 was not documented properly by Buena Vista County Public Health

STORM LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) - Iowa’s state auditor has released the results of a special investigation conducted on the public health department in Buena Vista County.

The investigation focused on the time period between March 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2020. County officials requested the investigation due to concerns regarding certain financial transactions processed by their former fiscal manager.

According to a release from the auditor’s office, it was determined $19,616 was not properly deposited. Because sufficient records were not available, the investigation was not able to determine if the funds were not collected, collected but not deposited, or split between uncollected and undeposited.

The amount includes about $12,946 of fees for adult immunizations and about $6,670 of fees for tuberculosis tests administered by the health department.

Along with the investigation, the auditor’s office provided several recommendations on how to strengthen the department’s internal controls, operations and overall documentation methods.

The Buena Vista County Attorney has been given a copy of the investigation and it is up to them to determine if charges should be filed. As of Thursday night, no one has been charged.