Report No. 2011-40
August 2011
Complete Report
Findings in the audit of Howard County
Financial Condition
Some county funds are in poor financial condition. For several years, disbursements exceeded receipts, and the rental income from the Keller Building does not cover the costs of needed maintenance and repairs.
Property Tax System Controls and Procedures
The County Collector does not complete and timely file accurate annual settlements. The annual settlement for the year ended February 28, 2010, was not filed until February 2011, and contained several errors and omissions. Such mistakes can go undetected because, as noted in our last four audit reports, neither the County Clerk nor the County Commission adequately reviews the County Collector's property tax collection activities. In addition, the County Clerk does not prepare or verify the accuracy of the current and delinquent tax books and also does not prepare aggregate abstract reports as required by state law.
Sheriff Controls and Procedures
We have repeatedly identified weaknesses in the Sheriff's controls and procedures, but improvements still have not been made. Accounting duties are not adequately segregated, and bank reconciliations have not been performed for 5 years. Receipts are recorded on multiple receipt records which are not reconciled, the composition of receipts is not reconciled to deposits, deposits are not made timely, and monies are not kept in a secure location. The Sheriff purchases telephone cards to sell to inmates, but no records of purchases or sales are maintained. In addition, the Sheriff does not transmit fees to the County Treasurer monthly, as required by state law.
Capital Improvement Sales Taxes
The road and bridge capital improvement sales tax ballot language may not be consistent with state law since it does not specifically identify a capital improvement purpose. In addition, the county deposits road and bridge sales tax receipts into the Special Road and Bridge Fund and does not separately account for disbursements made from the sales tax receipts, and has not identified capital improvement projects funded with these monies. The county imposed capital improvement sales taxes in excess of that allowed by state statute; but, when the jail capital improvement sales tax expires on December 31, 2011, the remaining road and bridge capital improvement sales tax will not exceed the statutory maximum.
County Disbursements
Disbursements from some restricted funds were not in compliance with state law. The county does not have a written agreement with the Prosecuting Attorney. To avoid using county resources to subsidize the Prosecuting Attorney's private practice, this agreement should outline which expenses will be provided by the county and which will be provided by her private practice.
Rock and Pipe Sales
The county needs to improve its controls over rock and pipe sales by preparing an invoice for each sale, issuing a receipt slip for each payment, and charging a price sufficient to cover its costs.
Public Administrator Controls and Procedures
The Associate Circuit Court does not review annual status reports for accuracy. The Public Administrator does not always timely deposit checks received on behalf of wards, which increases the risk of loss or misuse and, if done to remain below the Medicaid eligibility threshold, may violate state law. In addition, the Public Administrator does not review bank reconciliations or maintain adequate bank reconciliation documentation.
Capital Assets
As noted in our prior audit, the county needs to improve its property procedures and records. The county should develop procedures to identify property purchases and dispositions, ensure property records contain all necessary information, affix asset tags, and require an annual inventory.
Additional Comments
Because counties are managed by several separately-elected individuals, an audit finding made with respect to one office does not necessarily apply to the operations in another office. The overall rating assigned to the county is intended to reflect the performance of the county as a whole. It does not indicate the performance of any one elected official or county office.
In the areas audited, the overall performance of this entity was Poor.*
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 (Federal Stimulus)
During the audit period, the county was awarded the following ARRA funds:
ARRA - Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant: $91,031 to replace the Keller Building heating and cooling systems. These funds had not been received or spent by the end of the audit period.
Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program Grant: Howard County received and spent $28,446 to provide homelessness prevention assistance and rapid re-housing assistance during the audit period.
Recovery Act - Assistance to Rural Law Enforcement to Combat Crime and Drugs Competitive Grant: During the year ended December 31, 2010, Howard County received $391 and expended $4,039 toward overtime costs for Howard County Sheriff deputies working on criminal cases.
Recovery Act: Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant: During the year ended December 31, 2009, Howard County received and spent $9,226 to replace lightbars on Sheriff's department vehicles.
ARRA - Immunization Grant: During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Howard County Health Department received vaccines and $1,425 to administer the vaccines to school children.
*The rating(s) cover only audited areas and do not reflect an opinion on the overall operation of the entity. Within that context, the rating scale indicates the following:
Excellent:
The audit results indicate this entity is very well managed. The report contains no findings. In addition, if applicable, prior recommendations have been implemented.
Good:
The audit results indicate this entity is well managed. The report contains few findings, and the entity has indicated most or all recommendations have already been, or will be, implemented. In addition, if applicable, many of the prior recommendations have been implemented.
Fair:
The audit results indicate this entity needs to improve operations in several areas. The report contains several findings, or one or more findings that require management's immediate attention, and/or the entity has indicated several recommendations will not be implemented. In addition, if applicable, several prior recommendations have not been implemented.
Poor:
The audit results indicate this entity needs to significantly improve operations. The report contains numerous findings that require management's immediate attention, and/or the entity has indicated most recommendations will not be implemented. In addition, if applicable, most prior recommendations have not been implemented.
Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov
