Eastern Iowa City Administrator Charged with Misconduct

VINTON, Iowa (AP) — The city administrator in Vinton, Iowa, has been charged with office misconduct at his former job.

The Muscatine County Sheriff's Office says Chris Ward is accused of felonious misconduct based on a 2014 audit of West Liberty, where Ward previously served as city administrator but was fired in October 2013.

The audit revealed that West Liberty overbilled utility customers by $259,000 over an eight-month period in 2013 and 2014. The audit doesn't cite Ward, but that it identified his former administrative assistant Maribel Person for not properly adjusting the city's utility rates. Prosecutors now say Ward told Pearson not to alter the rates.

Vinton hired Ward as city administrator in May.

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