YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2006-89

December 2006

IMPORTANT:  The Missouri State Auditor is required by state law to conduct audits once every 4 years in counties, like Clinton, 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.

Documentation to support travel and training expenditures was not always adequate and county travel policies were not always followed.  Expenditure review procedures are not sufficient to prevent duplicate payments.

Written agreements with individuals or other entities were not always entered into as appropriate.  Also, documentation showing overall costs and benefits related to a written agreement with a developer was not available, and potential building permit fee revenues as compared to contractual obligations were not adequately considered.  It appears likely that permit fee monies will fall short and costs will have to be paid from county funds. 

Mileage logs are not maintained for county vehicles, and records of fuel usage for county vehicles and road and bridge equipment need improvement and are not adequately monitored.

The County Clerk does not maintain centralized records of leave and compensatory time for Sheriff’s office employees, and final payments to some employees did not have sufficient support.  Some time sheets are not signed by the employee and their supervisor. In addition, salary increases approved for some officials did not appear to comply with various statutory provisions.

Assessor’s office receipting and transmittal procedures are inadequate and provide little assurance that all monies collected are properly handled and accounted for. 

Controls and procedures of the Sheriff’s office need improvement.  Accounting duties are not adequately segregated and oversight is lacking.  Some monies collected by the office are not recorded or deposited timely, and receipt records are lacking or do not always contain proper details.  Month-end reconciliation procedures are not satisfactory.  Weaknesses were also noted regarding commissary activities, board of prisoner billings and jail food costs. 

The County Collector does not perform month-end reconciliation procedures to ensure the bank account balances are in agreement with partial pay records and other identified liabilities.  Contracts with various cities for collection of city property taxes need clarification regarding fees and penalties assessed.  In addition, the County Clerk needs to improve procedures related to verification of the back tax books. 

The Senate Bill 40 Board’s contracts with various agencies do not contain sufficient details regarding funding or documentation requirements.  The board’s approval of disbursements is not adequately documented and board minutes are not signed.

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