Former Van Buren CID board accused of using funds for business renovations

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Auditor says several former board members of a community improvement district (CID) in south central Missouri used almost $300,000 in taxpayer funds to pay for private business improvements and construction.

A report from Nicole Galloway says in an audit of the Black Mountain CID in Van Buren, located in Carter County, that two members of the current board contacted the State Auditor’s Office in December 2018 with concerns about how the previous board had spent taxpayer dollars. The audit reportedly found $296,937 in CID monies was spent for purposes not allowed by state law, including more than $100,000 in private business loans, cash flows for operational expenses, and repairs for a convenience store, including $10,000 for a beer cave.

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The audit also found the CID board could not provide adequate documentation to support more than $77,000 of expenses, including more than $51,000 paid to entities owned by board members. In addition, the CID board approved – without a written agreement – reimbursement of $135,000 in private business construction costs to a local developer who had past business connections to the board chairman. Payments of $28,000 were made without an agreement.

Black Mountain CID was organized and approved by the city of Van Buren in 2010 to create a sales tax for the purpose of making public infrastructure improvements inside the district’s 17 acres. All but one member of the initial CID board owned property or businesses in the CID. The current board has four new members and one vacancy.

The current board responded to the audit by saying they have implemented or will implement the recommendations. Auditor Galloway said her office has sent the audit findings to state and federal law enforcement authorities.

CIDs are special taxing districts designed to fund projects to better the community and can include a wide variety of purposes, such as land acquisition and development, business retention and capital improvements. There are more than 400 CIDs throughout the state.

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