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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
April 21, 1999
Report No. 99-25
The following problems were discovered as a result of our office's mot recent audit of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners.
The St. Louis Police Board is prohibited from paying overtime to any officer ranking sergeant or above. The Board of Police Commissioners' records indicate overtime payments were made in the amount of $242,069 in 1998, and $238,.545, in 1997. These payments were made to approximately 96 officers ranking sergeant and above. State law prohibits these payments.
The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners paid $10,902 and $12,473 to the Chief of Police for unused vacation leave and discretionary holidays in 1997 and 1996, respectively. The compensation to be paid to members of the police force is established by state law, not by the city of St. Louis. By paying the chief for unused leave, the board has exceeded it authority and paid the chief an amount in excess of the salary that the General Assembly has authorized. State law establishes the compensation of members of the police force that the General Assembly has authorized the Board of Police Commissioners to pay. Further, state law provides those ranks (police officers, sergeants and lieutenants) that may be paid for unused vacation time. Officers above the rank of lieutenant are not included in this authorization.
On June 30, 1998, the Board of Police Commissioners maintained over $6.9 million in checking accounts and certificates of deposit (CD's) at one bank. The Board has not bid any of its banking services. It appears the police department could have earned additional interest income by changing its investment practices. This condition was also noted in our two prior reports on the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners for years 1991 and 1994.
The board has agreed it should choose its banking services through competitive bidding. It expects to publish a plan within 90 days which would take effect during Fiscal Year 2000.
Our review of the budgeting process revealed the Board of Police Commissioners does not prepare formal budgets of revenues, resources, and expenditures for an account the Board refers to as the Secretary's Account. This condition was also noted in our two prior reports on the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners for years 1991 and 1994.
The Board of Police Commissioners transferred over $1.7 million from the city's General Fund to the Secretary's Account. Of this amount over $826,000 remained in the Secretary's Account on June 30, 1998, the end of the department's fiscal year. The department carried over to fiscal year 1999 approximately $561,500 in expenditures that should have been paid out of its General Fund budget. Had these expenditures been charged against the 1998 budget, the department would have overspent its budget by approximately $559,800 which is a violation of state law.
The Board has agreed to budget the Secretary's Fund and implement better expenditure controls.
In prior reviews of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners, the following problems were discovered, and corrective measures were recommended by the State Auditor. However, the problems have yet to be corrected.
| 1989 | 1991 | 1994 | 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payment of Health and Life Insurance to Commissioners | X | X* | ||
| Failure to Budget the Secretary's Account | X | X | X* | |
| Failure to Bid Banking Services | X | X | X* | |
| Failure to Properly Bid Goods and Services | X | X | X | X* |
| Missing Bond Receipt Forms | X | X* | X* | X* |
| Lack of Proper Inventory Controls and Procedures | X | X* | X* | X* |
| Missing Traffic and Parking Tickets | X* | X* | X* | X* |
| * Board agreed to implement Auditor's recommendations |
Other Items Noted:
In January 1998, the Board of Police Commissioners bid and purchased thirty-two high back chairs for the learning center totaling $22,048 or $689 per chair; however, the low bid totaled $14,080 for the same chairs. No documentation was provided to explain the basis or justification for awarding the bid to a vendor other than the low bidder.
We noted instances in which separate purchase orders totaling in excess of $1,000 were issued to the same vendor within ten days of each other for the purchase of similar items. Department policy requires any purchase in excess of $1,000 be bid by the department's Purchasing Division.
The State Auditor also noted that the department's Budget and Finance Division did not ensure all disbursements are supported by vendor-provided invoices which contain an adequate description of the goods or services needed. In addition, documentation to support travel advances to employees was also lacking.
The department's accounting controls and procedures over monies collected need improvement as noted in pages 26 through 34 of the review.
As of September 1998, the Board of Police Commissioners was holding over $79,000 in interest monies earned on Criminal Activity Forfeiture Act (CAFA) Funds. Article IX, section 7 of the Missouri Constitution relates to school funds. This provision states that all proceeds resulting from the forfeitures and fines collected shall be distributed annually to the schools.
