YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Our review of the city's sewer records and procedures disclosed several concerns including: 

• The city does not maintain a general ledger that documents the amount and date sewer payments are received and the composition of the receipts.� As a result, the city could not perform a periodic reconciliation of total amounts due, payments received, and delinquent amounts for sewer services.

• The Sewer Collector prepared inaccurate monthly financial reports for the Sewer Fund which reported cash balances that were on an average $7,417 higher than the actual Sewer Fund balance.

• The city has not performed a formal review of the adequacy of sewer rates since 1998.�

�        Supporting documentation or an independent approval of customer removals from the sewer billing system was not always retained.

Our audit noted various appointments and questionable transactions between the City of Hurdland and various board member's family, or their family corporations or businesses.

Because of the serious consequences which result by hiring a relative, the board should ensure its members abstain from any decisions to hire a relative and ensure that action is fully documented in the board minutes.� In addition, the board should consider establishing a policy which addresses these types of situations and provides a code of conduct for city officials. 

Also included in the audit are recommendations related to expenditures, board meetings and records, budgets, road maintenance planning, published financial statements, ordinances, accounting controls and policies, restricted revenues, property records, and other sewer operating procedures.

Complete Audit Report