Following Commission Meeting, Auditor, Treasurer Explain Gateway Payment Approval Process
- John Eads
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
TROY, Mo. — Following discussion during a recent Lincoln County Commission meeting regarding the county's payment to Gateway Infrastructure that was later determined to be fraudulent, Lincoln County Auditor Brenda Schulte and Treasurer Brenda O'Brien contacted Lincoln CountyWatch to provide additional information about the county's payment approval process and clarify the responsibilities of their respective offices.
The clarification follows comments made during the July 28 commission meeting concerning how the $123,043.27 payment moved through county government before it was issued.
According to Schulte, the fraudulent email that initiated the payment was received by the Lincoln County Clerk's Office. She said the Auditor's Office never received or reviewed that email and was unaware it contained fraudulent information.
Schulte explained that County Clerk Kenneth Schulte printed the invoice, approved it and submitted it through the county's normal accounts payable process. From there, the payment packet moved through the required approval process before continuing to the Treasurer's Office.
According to Schulte, the Auditor's Office has a specific statutory role during that process. She said her office verifies that sufficient funds are available for an approved expenditure before signing the payment packet but does not independently investigate the legitimacy of each invoice.
Schulte also told Lincoln CountyWatch she has previously been advised not to go beyond the Auditor's statutory responsibilities when reviewing payment packets. She said her office's responsibility is to verify that funds are available for an approved expenditure.
Treasurer Brenda O'Brien also provided Lincoln CountyWatch with a detailed explanation of how Lincoln County's accounts payable process works.
According to O'Brien, the process begins when the department making a purchase enters a purchase requisition into the county's financial system. In this case, she said the requisition originated with the County Clerk's Office.
The requisition is then reviewed by the County Commissioners, County Clerk and County Auditor. O'Brien said the Auditor's review is limited to confirming that sufficient funds exist to pay the invoice.
Once those approvals are complete, a purchase order is generated and returned to the department that initiated the purchase. The purchaser signs the purchase order, attaches it to the invoice, approves the invoice and submits both documents to the Accounts Payable Clerk.
The Accounts Payable Clerk enters the invoice into the county's financial software, prepares a council report and forwards the report, invoices and purchase orders for another round of approvals by the County Commissioners, County Clerk and County Auditor.
After those approvals are completed, the Accounts Payable Clerk prepares the payment. O'Brien said the Treasurer then reviews the completed reports to ensure the required approvals have been obtained before signing physical checks or releasing ACH payments as authorized by the County Commission.
O'Brien emphasized that the Treasurer's Office does not approve invoices submitted by other county offices. She said the Treasurer's review is limited to verifying that the required approvals have been completed before issuing payment, except for invoices generated by the Treasurer's own office.
Lincoln CountyWatch also obtained copies of the purchase order and invoice associated with the Gateway payment. The records show a purchase order dated Aug. 28, 2024, issued to Gateway Infrastructure, LLC, in the amount of $123,043.27 for a county broadband local match. The accompanying invoice, dated Aug. 19, 2024, was addressed to the Lincoln County Clerk's Office and bears receipt stamps from that office.
Both Schulte and O'Brien said they wanted to clarify the responsibilities of their offices following the discussion at the commission meeting and explain how the county's payment approval process is designed to function.
The clarification provided by the Auditor's Office and Treasurer's Office addresses the county's internal payment procedures and the statutory responsibilities of each office. It does not address the ongoing criminal investigation into the fraudulent Gateway payment itself.
Lincoln CountyWatch will continue following developments related to the Gateway fraud investigation as additional information becomes available.
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Story by: John Eads
Primary Sources
Lincoln County Auditor Brenda Schulte
Lincoln County Treasurer Brenda O'Brien
Email correspondence provided to Lincoln CountyWatch
Gateway Infrastructure invoice
Lincoln County purchase order
Lincoln County Commission meeting (July 29, 2026)
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