YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

November 18, 2002

Report No. 2002-111

The following areas of concern were noted in our audit of the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA).

In 1994, the Missouri General Assembly established a seven dollar fee on court cases to be used to fund a statewide court automation program.  During our review of the funding of statewide court automation we noted the following:

• The seven dollar fee was originally scheduled to expire in 1999; however, legislative action has extended this fee to 2004.  If this fee, which generates about $4.6 million annually for court automation, is not extended, the state’s General Revenue Fund will have to bear the entire subsequent court automation costs or automation of all courts will not be completed.
  
  
• Based upon the original fiscal note and current revenue projection assumptions, up to $70 million in court automation fees will be received through fiscal year 2009 (if the seven dollar fee is extended).  Actual costs of court automation through 2001 and the current projected costs of implementing and maintaining the system in all courts through 2009 are expected to total approximately $204 million.  It appears approximately $134 million in additional funding will be needed to implement and maintain the system in the state’s courts.
  
  
• The current cost projection estimates the cost of maintaining the automated case management system after implementation in all courts will total approximately $18 million annually.
  
  
• The fiscal note did not consider the long-term financial impact of the court automation program on the state’s General Revenue Fund or local governments.
  

Part of the problem lies with the fiscal note process for long-term projects.  Fiscal notes present financial information for only a three-year period.  The long-term fiscal impact of programs such as court automation is not always requested or considered by the Oversight Division or the General Assembly.  In addition, the financial impact on local governments of statewide programs is not always considered.  For long-term projects, the fiscal note process should be re-evaluated and changed to consider the long-range impact on state and local governments.

Other areas where improvements are needed include:

• Travel costs –   During fiscal years 2001 and 2000, the OSCA incurred in-state travel costs totaling approximately $3.3 million and out-of state travel costs totaling approximately $380,000.  We noted instances where travel costs did not appear reasonable and necessary.  In other cases, improved policies for reviewing costs could have reduced some costs.

·        Bidding Procedures – Although exempt from state purchasing laws, the OSCA's internal purchasing policy requires competitive pricing for items and services costing $3,000 or more. Auditors found items purchased with either no bids taken or no bids documented.  These items included:  $515,000 in consulting services, $5,800 in moving services, $44,700 in digital recording equipment, and a $31,000 audio system.

• Agency Provided Meals – Between July 1, 1999  and December 31, 2001, the OSCA purchased $540,000 in food for various meetings and training events. We noted several examples where the cost per person for agency provided food did not appear reasonable.  The OSCA has no policy establishing limits or guidelines on food expenditures.

Complete Audit Report