(Missourinet) – Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway says taxpayers are on the hook for billions of dollars in city project costs they didn’t approve.

A report from Galloway’s office Wednesday claims a lack of oversight for community improvement districts, or CIDs, has allowed for spending decisions to be made without much taxpayer input.

CIDs are special taxing districts designed to fund development projects.

Galloway says Missouri needs to reform state law because local governments can form districts with vague purposes and time frames and can change their purpose after being established.  She says that in the vast majority of CIDs, voters do not approve the additional taxes.

Galloway cited an example in Springfield where the public paid more than $225,000 in taxes after a project was completed.  In another example, taxpayers paid over $75,000 for lawn and landscaping services to a company owned by a board chairman in Lee’s Summit near Kansas City.

Listed in the report, the 15 CIDs across the state that were reviewed in detail included 2317 Belt CID and East Hills CID in St. Joseph. The report stated that the districts were not selected due to any known issues or concerns, but are considered representative of the entire population of CIDs throughout the state. The report stated, in looking at the petition documents for the 15 CIDs reviewed, it was determined 10 of them (67 percent) did not have a well-defined purpose. Those 10 included 12th & Wyandotte CID, 2317 Belt CID, Black Mountain CID, Capital Mall CID, East Hills CID, Hope Valley CID, Miner Gateway CID, North Oaks Plaza Shopping Center CID, Park Ridge CID, and Ward Parkway Shopping Center CID.

The auditor’s report outlined recommendations to improve transparencies of CIDs.

To view the report, click here.

 

Missourinet media partner KOLR-TV contributed this story