YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2006-56

September 2006

The following findings were included in our audit report on the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Clay County, Missouri.

The Clay County Circuit Court's procedures for reconciling listings of open items to available cash for the civil/criminal and traffic accounts need improvement.  While an open items listing is prepared for the civil/criminal account and compared to the available cash balance, differences exist each month and court personnel have been unable to determine the cause.  At December 31, 2005, the cash balance exceeded open items by approximately $117,000.  Also, a monthly open items listing is not prepared for the traffic account, which had a cash balance of $29,335 at December 31, 2005.    At our request, a listing was prepared as of December 31, 2005, and totaled $14,319, leaving an unidentified cash balance of $15,016. In addition, an unreconciled difference between the bank and book balances of the traffic account has existed for the past several years.

Procedures are not established to properly investigate and resolve daily cash overages and shortages.  During a cash count, we identified approximately $55 maintained in a cash box in envelopes that court personnel explained were net overages from various days' receipts, dating from 2002 to 2006.  Apparently, unresolved overages and shortages in a days' receipts from any of the divisions are put into, or taken from, the cash box to reconcile the drawer's receipts to the receipt slips issued.  

Procedures for collecting unpaid fines and court costs need improvement. The accrued cost listing for criminal cases consists of over 12,000 cases and totals approximately $1,786,000, and the listing for civil cases consists of over 1,200 cases totaling approximately $143,000.  Although the circuit division does utilize various methods to ensure payment, additional efforts have not been pursued if current methods are not successful.  We found the court is not following their established procedures on all applicable cases.  For example, while the court indicated a defendant's license is to be suspended when a warrant is issued for failure to pay, on only one of 12 cases tested was the suspension in place.  In addition, an accrued cost listing for traffic cases is not prepared.  At our request, a listing as of March 31, 2006, was prepared and totaled over $240,000 and included over 2,200 unpaid traffic tickets.    

The Juvenile Division did not have formal written agreements with some companies and individuals providing services, including an off-duty sheriff's deputy provided courtroom and meeting security for $887 and detention fees totaling $3,634 charged to another county to hold juveniles.

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