Bates County sheriff disputes audit’s finding of ‘wasteful spending’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released an audit Wednesday of the Bates County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office, calling $178,000 in expenditures “wasteful.”

Fitzpatrick said his office’s report gave the sheriff’s office a “poor rating,” citing the use of public funds to create a mounted patrol, subsidize a not-for-profit posse, and to hold rodeo events and parties.

“A county sheriff is entrusted with the duty to promote public safety and protect the lives of county residents, and using taxpayer funds to purchase horses, hold rodeos, and throw holiday parties is clearly a betrayal of the public’s trust and a misuse of funds that could have been better used for legitimate law enforcement purposes or by Bates County taxpayers,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. 

Hours after Fitzpatrick released the audit, Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson posted his response on Facebook.

“While I do not contest the expenditures mentioned in the report, I strongly contest the characterization of those funds as wasteful,” Anderson said, adding that the findings “failed to find a single violation of law.”

The audit was launched in 2023 after a whistleblower filed a complaint with the auditor’s office.

Fitzpatrick spent much of the report focused on the Bates County Mounted Patrol, a three-horse unit created in 2020. The audit found Anderson spent $110,000 to create and maintain the unit, which Fitzpatrick said was rarely used for law enforcement purposes. Instead, Fitzpatrick said the unit attended eight parades, six tractor shows, four rodeos, four fun-horse shows and one family fun day. The report did find that the unit performed two search and rescue efforts during the period reviewed.

“I’m sure there are people in Bates County who enjoyed seeing Bandit, Tater, and Duck, and attending some of the events the Sheriff financed with public funds, but they may be less thrilled when they realize how much money he diverted away from law enforcement efforts to purchase and care for these horses, and to buy items that have no law enforcement purpose like a dunk tank, a snow-cone machine and a go-kart,” Fitzpatrick said.

In his response Wednesday, Anderson said that, as sheriff, he has the authority to create various units, including the mounted patrol.

“The auditor fails to acknowledge the sheriff’s office’s authority to create this, nor do they recognize the benefit they provide to the community,” Anderson said. “The kids in our community want to pet a horse.”

Anderson also questioned the lengthy audit process, which stretched over three years.

“The findings failed to review a single violation of law,” Anderson said.

Fitzpatrick said Anderson was the reason the audit took so long.

“I would like to think Sheriff Anderson would take responsibility for the poor decisions he has made, but the truth is he has gone to great lengths to delay our audit and to refute the findings contained in our report that are intended to improve the function of his office,” Fitzpatrick said. “It required multiple subpoenas to obtain the Sheriff’s testimony and relevant documents to complete the audit, and it is disappointing that instead of accepting responsibility for the issues we identified, Sheriff Anderson chose to question our office’s auditing expertise.”

LINK | Read the 52-page audit

Watch Sheriff Anderson’s full response below.

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