YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2005-88

December 2005

The following problems were discovered as a result of an audit conducted by our office of the Village of Brownington, Missouri. 

Potential conflicts of interest and inadequate segregation of duties regarding the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Village Clerk were noted.

• The April 2004 minutes of the Board of Trustees indicate the wife of the Chairman of the Board seconded the motion to reappoint her husband as Chairman, in potential violation of the Missouri Constitution.  According to the minutes, only three of the five members of the board were present at this meeting.

• One board member serves as the Village Clerk and Village Treasurer, which appears contrary to an Attorney General's opinion.

• The board has not established the term of the Village Clerk, and her compensation has not been set by ordinance.

Open meeting minutes did not always document that closed meetings were held, the related vote to close the meetings, or the final disposition of matters discussed in closed meetings, as required by state law.  In addition, the village did not give proper notice of the public hearing on the proposed property tax rate, as required by state law.

The village does not have a formal bidding policy.  As a result, the decision of whether to solicit bids for a particular purchase is made on an item-by-item basis.  Additionally, adequate documentation was not obtained for legal services totaling $2,668, and invoices are not adequately reviewed before payment is made.

The village's annual budgets did not include some information required by state law, and semi-annual financial statements have not been published as required.  In addition, the village has not prepared an annual maintenance plan for village streets.

Complete Audit Report