Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick has issued the Wright County government a “poor” rating after reportedly uncovering illegal debt agreements, missing firearms and a secret sheriff's department account used to fund personal items.
The audit, released by Fitzpatrick’s office on June 30, revealed that the investigative process was hampered by local officials’ lack of cooperation. Investigators were forced to issue a subpoena to the county clerk to obtain public financial records, the auditor said. Furthermore, Fitzpatrick noted that former Sheriff Sonny Byerley originally withheld information regarding an unauthorized bank account.
“The people of Wright County deserve a better and more transparent government,” Fitzpatrick said, noting that while recent responses from new officials are encouraging, the county must fully implement dozens of corrective recommendations.
Illegal debt and jail expansion failures
The audit found that the Wright County Commission failed to protect the county's financial interests during a poorly managed jail expansion project. The county allegedly failed to pay construction costs on time, prompting the project’s construction manager to file a breach-of-contract lawsuit in June 2022.
The commission ultimately settled the lawsuit in July 2025 for $625,000, which drove the project $173,955 over its original guaranteed maximum price. To pay the settlement, the commission entered into an unauthorized loan agreement with the Wright County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Board. The 10-year repayment structure is not allowed under Missouri law and will cost taxpayers an additional $74,000 in interest.
Compounding the transparency issues, the commission failed to document the original promissory note in any open or closed meeting minutes, and officials could not locate minutes for seven separate closed meetings held in 2023.
Sheriff's office misconduct and missing guns
The audit exposed significant misconduct within the Wright County Sheriff's Office under Byerley, who resigned in late 2025. The office illegally maintained a "Special Operations" bank account and a safe deposit box outside of the county treasury. Byerley improperly deposited $15,000 in county funds into the account, alongside private donations.
Between January 2023 and July 2025, the report shows, Byerley made six improper and unsupported disbursements from the account totaling $15,950. Investigators discovered that public funds were used to buy two drones — one of which was kept at Byerley’s personal residence — and nearly $2,500 in gym equipment that could not be located at the sheriff's office or the jail.
The audit also exposed a dangerous lack of evidence room controls. State auditors conducted a review of 16 haphazardly selected items from the seized property log and found that four items were entirely missing, including a New England .20-caliber gun and a Maverick model 88 shotgun. No release forms or disposition records could be found for the missing weapons.
The sheriff's office has referred the handling of the unauthorized account and the missing property to an independent law enforcement agency for criminal review. The referral was initiated under the administration of Interim Sheriff Kristi Akers, who managed the agency from Byerley's November 2025 resignation until newly elected Sheriff B.J. Adler took office following a special election in January 2026.
Additionally, the commission granted Byerley unconstitutional midterm salary increases totaling $16,281 over two years. Because of improper calculations, Byerley was overpaid by $2,886 beyond even what the unauthorized local raises intended.
Widespread county office issues
The "poor" performance rating reflected systemic failures across multiple elected offices:
- County Clerk: Loni Pedersen failed to pay county invoices on time, resulting in 195 late bills and $961 in unnecessary penalties. Additionally, the clerk failed to document property tax reduction calculations, causing the county to improperly levy $23,400 in excess property taxes against residents in 2023.
- Prosecuting Attorney: John Tyrrell's office failed to secure accounting duties, left money orders unendorsed and let two inactive bank accounts accumulate $296 in dormant fees. Investigators also found an office employee was improperly running a private, cash-only notary business out of the taxpayer-funded office during county work hours.
- County Assessor: The office routinely charged residents an illegal $3 "research fee" to print standard parcel receipt slips, pocketing an estimated $376 in unallowed fees without performing any actual research. Assessor Rachel Wilhite noted in her response to auditors that the fee had been charged since before she took office in 2007 and has been discontinued.
- Public Administrator: John Miller, who retired at the end of 2025, consistently failed to file mandatory annual court settlements for vulnerable wards and estates on time, with filings lagging up to 105 days past their legal due dates.
The State Auditor’s Office noted that county officials have cooperative transition plans underway to restructure their financial operations and comply with state statutes moving forward.
