St. Louis County Councilman: 'timing is good' for a state audit of County Prosecutor's office while under Wesley Bell

Getty Images
Photo credit Getty Images

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder is calling for an audit of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's office while it was under Wesley Bell.

On Tuesday, the St. Louis County Council passed a resolution asking Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick to investigate the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office and its practices over the last six years.

"We've been told by employees in the office and outside the office since we are changing over the prosecutor, that this will be a great time to audit or to at least investigate some different allegations within the office," said Harder on 'Total Information A.M.'

The call came on the same day the Fitzpatricks's office released an audit into the St. Louis Circuit Attorney Office while it was under Kim Gardner and less than a week after Bell left office, with Melissa Price Smith taking over as county prosecutor.

"We want to make sure to set the record straight for the new incoming prosecutor so she has the tools necessary to correct the problems that be there," said Harder.

Harder says specifically, they want Fitzpatrick to look into if there was any mishandling of Sunshine Law requests, any misuse of department credit cards, the practice of county prosecutors working for local municipalities during off hours, and if the office was adhering to the budget they were given by the county council.

"(Price Smith) came to our council meeting (Tuesday night) and advocated we do this," said Harder. "Because if we didn't bring this up, she was going to. She's been so busy getting used to the office, trying to make some decisions."

"She has already made some great reorganization in the office already and I look forward to see some of her ideas implemented in the months and years to come."

Harder says he understands it will take a while for a full audit report to be released to the public.

"We would like an outside opinion and some guidance on how to correct issues if there is a problem," said Harder. "I think that's the job of the state auditor to come in and make those recommendations."

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images