State audit confirms missing funds in Iowa County

DES MOINES - The State Auditor identified $64,725 in undeposited collections and improper disbursements in the Iowa County Treasurer's Office between Jan. 1, 2005, and June 30, 2011, according to a report released Monday.

Former County Treasurer Kimberly Tanke, 54, pleaded guilty to first-degree theft in September in connection with the missing funds. She was sentenced to three years in prison, with the sentence deferred if she stays out of trouble. Tanke already has repaid the county more than $63,000, her attorney, Eric Tindal, said Monday. She also was fined $1,000.

Tanke served as county treasurer from 1999 until 2010, when she was elected to the Iowa County Board of Supervisors. She resigned from the board Jan. 20 after information about the undeposited payments came to light, the State Auditor reported.

Financial variances were discovered in a regular CPA audit in late 2013. When Tanke met with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa County Sheriff on Jan. 22 she 'admitted she used county funds for personal expenses,” the audit said.

Included in the missing funds were 205 improperly-voided transactions for vehicle registration renewals and titles worth a total $55,725, the audit found. Thirty-one of those payments were recorded with Tanke's user name and password, while the others were done with other employee's logins. However, several employees told auditors Tanke had access to their passwords and occasionally logged in on their computers.

Most of this money - 96 percent of each transaction - should have gone to the Iowa Department of Transportation, the audit noted.

Auditors also identified $9,421 in improper disbursements that included 18 cash withdrawals and 12 money orders by Tanke.

The State Auditor recommended Iowa County improve its internal controls, requiring extra checks and balances and reconciling receipts to deposits. The report also recommended the DOT improve its oversight of the electronic registration and title system.