YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

September 30, 2002

Report No. 2002-103

IMPORTANT:  The Missouri State Auditor is required by Missouri law to conduct audits only once every four years in counties, like Scott County, which do not have a county auditor.  However, to assist such counties in meeting federal audit requirements, the State Auditor will also provide a financial and compliance audit of various county operating funds every two years.  This voluntary service to Missouri counties can only be provided when state auditing resources are available and it does not interfere with the State Auditor's constitutional responsibility of auditing state government.

Once every four years, the State Auditor's statutory audit will cover additional areas of county operations, as well as the elected county officials, as required by Missouri's Constitution.

This audit of Scott County included additional areas of county operations, as well as the elected county officials.  The following concerns were noted as part of the audit:

• The county and the Health Center do not have adequate procedures in place to track federal awards for preparation of the Schedule of Expenditure of Federal Awards.  As a result, the county and Health Center over reported expenditures on their SEFA schedule by approximately $47,700 and $67,500, for 2001 and 2000, respectively.
  
  
• The county owns vehicles used for road and bridge and law enforcement purposes. Logs which document vehicle usage are not maintained.
  
  
• Some of the county law enforcement vehicles do not appear to be fully utilized.  In the past, the County Commission refused to pay the Sheriff mileage for his personal fleet of vehicles, because they believed the county fleet should be adequate.  The Sheriff began paying the mileage from the Sheriff's Special Fund established in the county treasury by Section 57.280, which gives the sheriff discretion over monies not to exceed $50,000 a year.  For the years ended December 31, 2001 and 2000, the Sheriff received $57,488 and $46,812, respectively, in mileage claims paid from the Sheriff's Special Fund.  None of the various mileage reimbursement documents indicate which vehicle was used.

Without adequate documentation to ensure the Sheriff's fleet is used only when county vehicles are not available, the County Commission has no assurance county vehicles are being fully utilized or that only actual miles traveled are being reimbursed.

• A state law, Section 50.333.13, RSMo, enacted in 1997, allowed salary commissions meeting in 1997 to provide mid-term salary increases for associate county commissioners elected in 1996 due to the fact that their terms were increased from two years to four. Based on this law, in 1999 Scott County’s Associate County Commissioners salaries were each increased approximately $6,700 yearly.

On May 15, 2001, the Missouri Supreme Court handed down an opinion that holds that all raises given pursuant to this statute section are unconstitutional. Based on the Supreme Court decision, the raises given to each of the Associate County Commissioners, totaling approximately $13,400 for the two years ended December 31, 2000, should be repaid.

• Collateral securities pledged by the county's depositary bank to cover deposits of the County Treasurer and the County Collector were insufficient by approximately $3.8 million on January 31, 2001.
  
  
• The Senate Bill 40 Board has accumulated a significant cash reserve and budgets $50,000 for "potential new projects" each year.  Such practices reduce the effectiveness of the budget as a planning tool.  Proper notice was not always given to the public regarding meeting times and locations.  Bids were not obtained or bid documentation was not retained for various equipment purchases, and contractual procedures need improvement.

Complete Audit Report