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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
May 29, 2001
Report No. 2001-43
The following problems were discovered as a result of an audit conducted by our office of the Department of Agriculture, State Milk Board.
State
law requires the Department of Health, as the official rating agency for the
State Milk Board, to make an official rating survey at least annually on all
Grade A BTU�s (Bulk Tank Unit � a group of dairy farms), plants, and receiving
and transfer stations.� As discussed in
prior reports dating back to 1985, we noted that the rating surveys were
conducted on an eighteen to twenty-four month schedule instead of annually as
required by state law.� These rating
surveys provide evidence to the State Milk Board that there is appropriate and
effective enforcement by the local health departments of the sanitation
standards and other provisions governing the production, handling, and
processing of Grade A milk.� Because the
rating surveys are not conducted in a timely manner, the State Milk Board
should reconsider the extent of its reliance on the Department of Health rating
surveys as a measure of its contractors� performance.
The
Milk Inspection Fees Fund was established to receive fees collected from milk
producers.� The monies collected are
used for inspection and compliance monitoring expenses, including payments to
local health departments which contract with the State Milk Board to perform
these services.� It appears the fees
collected from producers are not adequate to cover inspection and compliance
monitoring costs.� As a result, monies
are appropriated and paid from the state�s General Revenue Fund to help cover
payments to health department contractors.�
Although payments to contractors represent the State Milk Board�s most
significant expenditure, useful actual cost data is not obtained from
contractors.� An analysis of budget and
cost data from the contractors would help ensure payments to contractors are
appropriate and reasonable.
Based
on the State Milk Board�s records of milk produced in fiscal year 2000, it
appears the local health departments were paid more than the limit allowed by
statute.� This situation occurred when
payments from both the Milk Inspection Fees Fund and the state�s General
Revenue Fund are considered.
Similar concerns were also noted in prior reports dating back to fiscal year 1995.
