Report No. 2007-24
May 2007

The following findings were noted as a result of an audit conducted by our office of the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit, Municipal Division, St. Louis County, Missouri.

The court has not established procedures to follow-up on case dispositions to determine if any bonds listed need to be forfeited or refunded, or have a new court date assigned.  At December 31, 2006, the bond open items listing totaled approximately $770,400.  The balance in the Bond Fund exceeded the bond open items listing by approximately $18,000.  Fourteen of the fifteen cases reviewed had bonds which needed to be forfeited.  In addition, bond amounts transferred to the Bond Forfeiture Fund could not be identified with specific cases or individual bond owners.  Also, the court transfers bond forfeitures to the county only once a year.  As of  December 31, 2006, there was approximately $61,450 in the Bond Forfeiture Fund awaiting transfer.
   
The Municipal Division has not developed procedures to routinely follow-up on old outstanding case balances.  Only failure to appear notices and warrants are issued for non-payment.  Recent legislation has increased the court's opportunities to collect amounts owed the court; however the Municipal Division does not participate in any of these options.  A report of the amounts currently owed to the court could not be generated by its computer system.   As a result, the total due to the court could not be determined. 

Monies received are not deposited timely at the South and West division offices.  In addition, all court employees in the division offices have access to the safe or locked drawer located in their respective office where the monies are kept until being deposited. The average deposit amount was $10,400, $2,800, and $5,100 for the South Division, the West Division, and the North Division, respectively.  Also, supervisors at the North, South, and West division offices collect and receive checks and money orders without recording or documenting the amounts received.  These monies are transmitted to other clerks for additional processing and recording into the accounting system.  The number of employees who receive and handle monies should be limited to safeguard monies from theft, loss or misuse. 

Complete Audit Report