Missouri audit finds missing records, travel problems in former governor's office

A new state audit is raising questions about record keeping, travel and spending during former Gov. Mike Parson's administration.

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick gave the Governor's Office a "fair" rating after identifying multiple issues involving taxpayer-funded travel, employee payments and missing public records. (Missouri State Auditor's Office)

Among the most significant findings:

• Auditors reviewed 174 state-funded flights costing taxpayers $375,160. Records listed only vague descriptions such as "Flight for Governor Parson," and auditors said they could not determine a specific state business purpose for 58 of those flights.

• The report also identified 16 flights tied to book signing events for Parson's commemorative biography. Auditors noted all but one of those trips also included official state business.

• A December 2023 state aircraft trip to the Cotton Bowl violated state travel policy because spouses of Governor's Office employees were passengers.

• The Governor's Office paid $28,058 in compensatory time to four top-level employees without sufficient documentation showing the payments were justified rather than unconstitutional bonuses.

• Three employees received $30,449 in tuition reimbursements that auditors said did not comply with state or office policy.

• The office failed to preserve and archive key records required by law, including former Gov. Parson's official calendar, Sunshine Law request logs, portions of the employee handbook, office policies and its internal control plan. Auditors said neither the former administration, the current administration nor the Office of Administration could locate the missing records.

• The audit also found the Governor's Office used about $472,000 appropriated for its own operations to help pay expenses for other state agencies during fiscal year 2024.

• Auditors further cited weak documentation for staff travel expenses and meals served at governor-hosted events, making it difficult to determine whether all spending complied with state policy.

The audit makes several recommendations to improve documentation, strengthen oversight of taxpayer-funded travel, comply with state record retention laws and better document spending. It is a routine closeout audit covering Parson's administration after he left office.