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[doeelliott]

Jurisdiction/Place:

Lawson raises taxes for odd shortfall
City clerk arrested in Missouri town in probe of more than $89,000 taken from public funds.
By GLENN E. RICE
The Kansas City Star
Lawson officials approved an annual tax levy Thursday that included additional money to cover thousands of dollars allegedly stolen by the city clerk.

Authorities arrested Rhonda S. Minnick, 43, of Lawson on Wednesday, accusing her of multiple counts of forgery and stealing more than $89,000 in public funds.

According to court records, Minnick wrote several checks that were made payable to herself from the city’s checking account.

She later deposited the money in her personal account at a Kearney bank.

On Thursday, Lawson city officials agreed to raise its tax levy from $1.41 to $1.80 for every $100 of assessed value.

“It was not a popular decision, but one that had to be made,” City Administrator John Tracy said Friday.

The portion of the levy that addressed the city’s debt service increased from 97 cents to $1.17 for every $100 of assessed value.

Lawson’s levy for general operating also increased.

It was 41 cents; it will now be 63 cents for $100 of assessed value.

Tracy said city officials were notified two weeks ago that they were about to incur an overdraft on the city’s bank account.

City officials then obtained bank records and suspended Minnick without pay during the investigation.

Minnick, who was appointed city clerk in 2000, is expected to resign, Tracy said.

In January, Minnick allegedly wrote a check for $6,264 in city funds from the Lawson Bank.

The check was made payable to herself without permission from city officials, according to court records.

Minnick also is accused of forging the signature of another city official on checks written between Nov. 6, 2003, and July 31 of this year.

Tracy said Minnick wrote the checks to herself and later changed the entry in the check register to indicate that they had been written to vendors.

Clerk Charged with Embezzlement Heads to Court
LAWSON, MO. - A city clerk charged with embezzling as much as $200,000 dollars heads to court next week.

Lawson city clerk Rhonda Minnick is still behind bars since her arrest last week. Minnick has asked for a reduction in her $15,000 bond.

She is accused of forging city checks and depositing them in her own bank account.

Lawson city officials were forced to pass two tax increases to pay city bills after the money was discovered missing.

City administrator John Tracy said one of the tax hikes should only last a year. The other will be re-evaluated at the end of the year.

Is it legal for them to do this? Where is the accountability, and what about restitution? As citizens of Lawson we feel like we are the criminal here and the punishment is ours.

[doeelliott]

They want us to repay taxes that we have all ready paid once. Isn't that double taxation?