YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2005-98

December 2005

IMPORTANT:  The Missouri State Auditor is required by state law to conduct audits once every 4 years in counties, like Laclede that do not have a county auditor. In addition to a financial and compliance audit of various county operating funds, the State Auditor's statutory audit covers additional areas of county operations, as well as the elected county officials, as required by Missouri's Constitution.

This audit of Laclede 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 does not adequately track or report federal assistance on the schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) which could result in the loss of federal funds.  During the years ended December 31, 2004 and 2003, the SEFA schedule, prepared by the County Clerk, contained numerous errors and omissions totaling $262,135 and $114,586, respectively. 

• The county did not always solicit bids or retain documentation for some purchases, including a 911 system upgrade, food for the jail, rock, asphalt, road equipment repair, a fuel truck, and grader blades.  Further, the County Commission, Circuit Clerk, and Circuit Judge approved additional compensation to several county and state employees for services previously rendered.  These payments appear to represent compensation in the form of a bonus, which is prohibited by the Missouri Constitution.  Additionally, the county has failed to pay the Missouri Office of Prosecuting Attorneys (MOPS) for the Prosecuting Attorney Retirement Fund since November 2001, and as a result, owes MOPS $13,113. 

• Budgets for several county funds include plans to expend the entire cash balance, which is not a true estimate of the expenditures and cash balance.  Also, the county has imposed a half-cent sales tax restricted for community development and has distributed these revenues to various entities within the county; however, documentation of how the monies were spent has not yet been obtained.  The County Commission indicated that they have procedures in place to obtain this documentation, but have not reached this point in the process.

• Actions of the salary commission in approving an annual raise for the County Treasurer were not supported by a written legal opinion.  Some county officials elected to take a salary less than the authorized amount and, as a result, the county has underpaid these officials.  Also, minutes are not prepared to document matters discussed in closed meetings of the County Commission. 

• Weaknesses existed in the office of the Public Administrator.  Income tax refund and property tax credit checks received by the Public Administrator on behalf of wards are often held for extended periods of time and not deposited timely to ensure wards remain eligible for Medicaid benefits.  On August 18, 2005, a total of $9,057 in checks were being held by the Public Administrator.  There were numerous examples where checks were held up to one year before being deposited into the ward's bank account.  In addition, one annual settlement filed by the Public Administrator erroneously included a $36,000 certificate of deposit,  settlements are not always filed timely, and a default charge of $726 was paid from a ward's estate.  Several of the Public Administrator's wards earn wages; however, the Public Administrator does not consistently report this income and does not have a court order detailing how wages should be accounted for properly.  Additionally, duties are not adequately segregated and no supervisory review is periodically performed and documented.

• Sheriff Commissary procedures have not improved from the prior audit.  Receipt slips are not reconciled to deposit amounts, voided receipt slips are not retained, and bank reconciliations are not performed monthly.  Additionally, the Inmate Trust bank account balance is not reconciled to the total of the individual inmate balances plus any remaining commissary proceeds.  As of January 2005, liabilities exceeded the balance of the Inmate Trust bank account by $1,224.  Further, accounting and bookkeeping duties are not adequately segregated.  The Sheriff also cashed a check for $700 from proceeds from the sale of advertising space on calendars and retained the cash for drug investigations.  Such accountable fees should have been turned over to the county treasury. 

• The County Collector incorrectly calculated the allocation of penalties collected on delinquent taxes, resulting in $12,000 due from the General Revenue Fund to the County Employee's Retirement Fund (CERF). 

• The Prosecuting Attorney does not always deposit bad check receipts timely and the composition of deposits is not reconciled to the composition of receipts recorded in the bad check system. 

• The Circuit Clerk has not established formal procedures to ensure all accrued costs pertaining to criminal cases are adequately pursued.  As of August 31, 2005, uncollected accrued case costs totaled over $2.9 million.  Also, the Circuit Clerk does not have procedures in place to follow up on old open items or outstanding checks, which totaled approximately $60,000 and $8,753, respectively, as of December 31, 2004. 

Also included in the audit were recommendations related to the lack of written agreements, various Sheriff Funds handled outside the county disbursement process, cash management procedures for the receipt and distribution of federal project monies, a road maintenance plan, the Health Center, and the Developmentally Disabled Board. 

Complete Audit Report