Report No. 2009-02
January 2009
Complete Audit Report

The following findings were included in our report on Barton County:

Undercover drug buy monies totaling $2,500 could not be accounted for by the Sheriff. The Sheriff did not always record drug and information buy monies returned to him on the drug buy ledger or in drug buy receipt books, and it appears questionable why the Sheriff did not use the drug buy monies on hand since 2006 to purchase drugs. The Sheriff maintains exclusive control of the drug buy monies and related records. Activity reports, evidence records, and lab reports were not retained for all drug buys made, and a log of drug buy evidence and seized property is not maintained by the Sheriff.

Bids were not solicited for some items nor was bid documentation always retained for various purchases. The county did not always enter into formal written agreements and improvements are needed in the records and procedures relating to weather radio sales. Food purchases for a retirement banquet did not appear to be a prudent use of public monies. The county has not established formal policies and procedures for the use of the county's 50 credit cards.

Fuel tickets are not always submitted from employees of the Sheriff's office, and as a result, fuel tickets are not reconciled with monthly fuel bills. In addition, vehicle mileage and fuel usage logs maintained by the Sheriff's office are not reconciled to fuel purchases. The county allows a deputy who resides outside the county to commute to and from work in a county-leased patrol truck and the amount of personal (commuting) mileage is not maintained for the deputy's vehicle or reported on the deputy's W-2 form as compensation. In addition, the county has not developed a formal written policy regarding cellular phone usage, or guidelines to determine whether a cellular phone is needed or of benefit to the county. Charges were incurred for text, picture, and video messaging; however, cellular phone plans of the Sheriff's office do not provide for these features, and several personal calls were noted during our review of a cellular phone bill.

Adequate reviews of employees' timesheets were not always performed by the County Clerk’s office or by the employees' supervisory official, and as a result, numerous errors were unidentified. Centralized records of vacation leave, sick leave or compensatory time earned, taken, or accumulated are not maintained by the County Clerk’s office on a monthly basis. Time sheets prepared by employees of the Sheriff's office were not always signed by the Sheriff. In addition, overtime worked for a grant was not recorded on some deputies' timesheets, the deputies were paid in excess of the regular overtime rate, and overtime was not processed through the county payroll system. As a result, payments were not reported on the deputies' W-2 forms and payroll deductions were not withheld from the payments. The county allowed an employee to share (transfer) a portion of his leave with another county employee.

Minutes are not prepared for the closed session of County Commission meetings, and some issues discussed in closed meetings did not appear to be allowable per the Sunshine Law. The county does not have a formal policy regarding public access to county records.

Neither the County Commission nor the County Clerk reviews the activities of the County Collector-Treasurer. The County Clerk does not maintain an account book or other records summarizing property tax transactions and changes and does not prepare or verify the accuracy of the current or delinquent tax books.

Annual settlements were not prepared by the County Collector-Treasurer consistently from year to year and the County Collector-Treasurer did not always file her annual settlement in a timely manner. The County Collector did not correctly distribute current and delinquent tax commissions for the year ended February 28, 2008, resulting in approximately $33,500 being owed to the various political subdivisions. Proposition C ratios were not used to calculate the county's withholdings on taxes collected and distributed. In addition, the County Collector-Treasurer withheld $600 from interest earnings to establish change funds, and some protested taxes were not disbursed in a timely manner.

Accounting duties are not adequately segregated in the Sheriff's office, and controls and procedures over receipts and inmate monies need improvement. The Sheriff did not maintain records to document the average cost of meals served to inmates, and allowed employees to eat meals prepared by the jail in violation of his own office policy. Controls and procedures over seized property need improvement.

Also included in the report are recommendations related to budget procedures, the Prosecuting Attorney, and the Public Administrator.

Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov