YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2006-72

December 2006

IMPORTANT:  The Missouri State Auditor is required by state law to conduct audits once every 4 years in counties, like Hickory, that do not have a county auditor.  In addition to a financial 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.

• The county did not always solicit bids, or bid documentation was not always retained, for some purchases including new and used vehicles and ballots.  The County Commission also failed to document their justification (or reasons) to purchase a 2005 large sport utility vehicle for the exclusive use of the Sheriff.  In addition, controls over fuel usage in the Sheriff's office and the road and bridge department need improvement.  Further, Forms 1099 Miscellaneous were not always prepared when applicable, and the county did not always enter into contracts when appropriate such as for boarding of prisoners and dispatching services.

• The County Collector's bond was less than the amount required by state law, and it is not clear whether certain other elected officials met statutory minimum requirements for bonding. 

• Three employees of the Sheriff's office and the Sheriff used county property while performing duties as part-time employees of a private company contracted to provide security for the Federal Emergency Management Assistance (FEMA) office set up in the county to serve victims of the March 2006 tornado.  These four individuals were paid a total of $4,670 by the security company for their service.

• The Sheriff's office is holding conceal and carry permit fees in a bank account outside the county treasury in apparent violation of state law, and accounting controls over these fees are in need of improvement.  In addition, accounting duties have not been adequately segregated in the Sheriff's office, procedures over civil processing fees need improvement, and the method of payment was not always indicated on receipt slips. 

• The Prosecuting Attorney's office does not require a signed payment plan for bad check writers making partial payments and does not adequately monitor court ordered restitution.  In addition, procedures have not been adopted to ensure that bad  check  complaints   are  filed  with  the  court  in  a  timely  manner, and the

Prosecuting Attorney's secretary can reduce the amount of bad check fees charged to the bad check writer without obtaining approval from the Prosecuting Attorney.

• The Circuit Clerk's office has not established adequate procedures to ensure all accrued costs (court costs, incarceration costs, court-ordered restitution, and fines) are adequately identified and pursued.  Upon our request, the Circuit Clerk ran a report of accrued costs totaling $253,372 due to the Circuit Court as of April 17, 2006; however, the Circuit Clerk did not regularly run and review this report.  In addition, the court does not adequately review the status of case liabilities (or open items), and accounting duties are not adequately segregated in the Circuit Clerk's office. 

• Various weaknesses exist in the accounting controls and procedures of the health center including the functions of cash receipting, depositing and reconciling.  Further, review procedures over Health Center expenditures are in need of improvement and employee timesheets were not signed by the employee and contained no documentation of supervisory review.  In addition, general capital asset records and procedures need improvement, the health center's published financial statement did not include the level of detail required by state law, and budget amendments were not filed as required.  Finally, procedures related to closed session meetings of the Health Center Board were not always adequate and did not always comply with state law.

This audit also suggested improvements related to County Commission closed minutes and in the procedures of the Associate Circuit Court, Public Administrator, and Assessor.

Complete Audit Report