Missouri State Auditor's Office - 2004-
 |
YELLOW SHEET
Office of the State Auditor of Missouri
Claire McCaskill
|
Report No. 2004-71
September 20, 2004
IMPORTANT: The Missouri State
Auditor is required by state law to conduct audits once every 4 years in
counties, like Benton County, that do not have a county auditor. In addition to
a financial and compliance audit of various county operating funds, the State
Auditor's statutory audit covers additional areas of county operations, as well
as the elected county officials, as required by Missouri's Constitution.
This audit of Benton County included additional
areas of county operations, as well as the elected county officials. The
following concerns were noted as part of the audit:
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The county's General Revenue Fund is
experiencing a declining cash balance. Despite a growth in receipts, the
county has spent more than it received during the last two years and
anticipates a similar situation during 2004. The General Revenue Fund 2004
budget document projects a $800 year-end cash balance.
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The county's criteria and selection procedures
related to selecting an architect to design and administer the construction of
an E-911 facility were not adequately documented. In addition, although
significant building design changes were made after bids on the original
design for the E-911 facility were opened, the county did not reject all bids
and re-bid the project.
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In 1999, mid-term raises, of approximately
$9,986, were given to the Associate Commissioners. On May 15, 2001, the
Missouri Supreme Court handed down an opinion that challenged the validity of
Section 50.333.13, RSMo, which allowed county salary commissions in 1997 to
provide mid-term salary increases for associate county commissioners. The
Supreme Court held this section of law violated Article VII, Section 13 of the
Missouri Constitution, which specifically prohibits an increase in
compensation for state, county and municipal officers during the term of
office. The county has not documented its review of the Supreme Court
decision.
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The County Treasurer did not prepare proper
bank reconciliations, distribute surplus monies from land tax sales as
provided by law, or prepare semiannual settlements.
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Numerous problems were noted with the County
Collector's control procedures. Bank reconciliations are not prepared on a
timely basis and bank balances are not reconciled to liabilities, resulting in
a $5,100 shortage in the bank accounts. A $1,358 shortage from the prior
audit was reimbursed by the collector. Outstanding checks are not monitored
and approximately $8,055 in old outstanding checks were added back to the cash
balance in the collector's records with no effort made to locate payees or
reissue new checks. Some bank account balances were not adequately monitored
for the sufficiency of pledged collateral securities or commercial insurance.
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Several problems were noted with the County
Collector's property tax collection, distribution, and reporting procedures.
Surtax collections continue to be distributed based on 1985 information.
Property tax collection services provided to cities either are not supported
by a written agreement or are based on outdated written agreements. Interest
income earned from March 2000 through February 2004, totaling in excess of
$36,000, has not been distributed. Annual settlements were filed late,
contained errors, and were not reviewed by the County Commission.
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In our prior report it was noted the County
Collector was not properly distributing payment in lieu of tax monies,
resulting in approximately $12,000 being due from the county's General Revenue
Fund to various political subdivisions. While these monies are now being
properly distributed, the $12,000 error has not been corrected.
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The Sheriff has not provided for a proper
segregation of recordkeeping duties, the identification of liabilities, and
timely deposits.
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The Health Center's budget document did not
adequately project the anticipated financial position for the health center
fund.
Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov
