Madison County responds after treasurer arrested, accusations of fund mismanagement
Madison County took action Wednesday to secure its facilities and approve someone to take over the treasurer's duties after Madison County Treasurer Amanda DeVos was arrested Friday afternoon.
Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors allowing the county to block DeVos' access to county accounts and change the locks on county buildings that DeVos could access. The board also appointed first deputy county treasurer, Kylee Barber, to take over DeVos' duties.
Board of Supervisors chair Heather Stancil said since DeVos was elected into the office, she will remain the county's treasurer until she either resigns from the role or is removed through an official action. However, Barber will assume the treasurer's duties.
DeVos is facing charges of fraud, theft, and felonious misconduct in office. Investigators say DeVos used her access as county treasurer to falsify documents showing that she paid for a vehicle registration when she did not.
Since her arrest, DeVos has also been accused of multiple cases of financial mismanagement unrelated to the criminal investigation.
Wednesday, Winterset Superintendent Justin Gross told vlog that DeVos failed to transfer monthly property tax payments into the district account before payroll was due in July, October, and November in 2024. The late payments impacted the district's ability to pay salaried staff because the district was forced to adjust where the payroll funds were coming from.
Saturday, the City of Winterset told vlog the Madison County Treasurer deposited more than $200,000 into the city's account that did not belong to Winterset. City administrator Drew Barden says, on October 16th, the treasurer deposited funds that did not belong to Winterset into the city's account. On October 22nd, Barden says the city realized the error and notified the treasurer to remove the money. However, the money was never taken out of the account, and monthly payments continued to be transferred to the city. He says the funding was still in the city's account after DeVos's arrest.
The city of Patterson's mayor, Rollie Robbins, told vlog $15,000 is missing from their accounts that DeVos was supposed to deliver, leaving Patterson unable to pay a developer responsible for building homes in the area.
vlog asked Stancil why action was not taken before DeVos's arrest to address the alleged mismanagement at the treasurer's office, despite claims that the supervisors were aware of some of the errors. Stancil said the board does not have authority to oversee an elected office, such as the treasurer's office.
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