CAUGHT RED-HANDED

Iowa Guv Used COVID Funds to Pay Staff, Then Covered It Up: Audit

Reynolds’ office ignored repeated suggestions from the auditor to avoid the entire endeavor as it was unlikely to get federal approval.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds improperly used federal coronavirus relief funds to pay her staff for three months and covered it up by spending the money via the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, according to an audit released Monday. State auditor Rob Sand found that Reynolds used nearly $450,000 in federal aid to pay salaries despite her office being warned repeatedly by Sand that the arrangement was unlikely to get federal approval. When pressed for documentation to justify the spending, the Republican governor said the 21 staff members were employees working on the state’s COVID response—but she provided no proof to back it up.

Sand obtained a spreadsheet from DHS that listed the employees in a section titled “FY 2020 Shortfall” at a cost of $448,448.66. But, in a follow-up spreadsheet, the title had been changed to “Covid-19 Personnel Costs.” The change was “a pretty big deal,” Sand told the Associated Press. “What is not clear is why these salaries were not included in the governor’s budget set prior to the fiscal year and prior to the pandemic,” he wrote in his report. “Based on this information, we conclude that the budget shortfall was not a result of the pandemic.” Reynolds’ spokesperson claimed the U.S. Treasury Department gave them permission to use COVID aid to reimburse salaries.