(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand has released a report that found nearly 77-thousand dollars was misspent by the former director of the Tama County Conservation Department. Stephen Mayne was hired for the job in March of 2021. Sand says on August 1st of last year, the agency’s maintenance staff found a bunch of Menards receipts for an account that wasn’t typically used by the county.

Staff in the state auditor’s office reviewed financial transactions for the 29 months Mayne held the position of director at Tama County Conservation.

The conservation department was involved in a number of projects in Tama County at the time and county officials told the auditor’s office Mayne was also remodeling his home and at least one other property. Sand says not all expenses and receipts were properly documented and couldn’t be located — so auditors were unable to determine if other purchases were improper.

The report has been forwarded to the Tama County Attorney, the Iowa Attorney General and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.