Saint Louis County Auditor Hasn't Conducted An Audit

CLAYTON, MO — Over the past year, St. Louis County has spent more than 600 million taxpayer dollars and endured a series of scandals over how much of that money was used. But, the Post-Dispatch reports, Mark Tucker, the county's auditor, hasn't conducted a single audit during that time.

Tucker, a former lobbyist, was appointed by the county council more than a year ago, despite criticism at the time that he had no auditing experience. In September 2017, County Executive Steve Stenger publicly called for Tucker to be fired, citing an outstanding $91,000 federal tax lien against the auditor, as well as the fact that Tucker had then been in office for more than six months without conducting an audit.

“He cannot responsibly oversee his own finances. How can he be trusted to oversee the county’s?” Stenger said at the time.

The situation doesn't seem to have improved since then.

Tucker declined to answer questions from the Post-Dispatch or discuss his current responsibilities. As one explanation of his office's lack of work, Tucker accused Stenger of blocking him from hiring staff. The county council brought suit against Stenger for that reason last year. But, Stenger said Tucker has had access to more than $100,000 to hire two staffers, and those positions remain unfilled. That lawsuit is currently pending.

Offering no evidence, Tucker said audits are underway. He also accused the county executive of blocking access to records, but did not give the Post-Dispatch any examples in a written statement. Stenger said Tucker hadn’t asked for any records until this year.

Read more from the Post-Dispatch.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

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