Report No. 2010-83
July 2010
Complete Audit Report

Findings in the audit of the Thirty-First Judicial Circuit, City of Willard Municipal Division

Municipal Division Procedures
Municipal division procedures related to case dispositions and warrants need improvement. The Municipal Judge does not always sign the court dockets after case dispositions are recorded. The municipal division could not provide documentation showing warrants were always specifically authorized by the Municipal Judge as required. The warrants are issued by the Court Clerk and a facsimile of the Municipal Judge's signature is applied. The practice of using a signature stamp does not allow for proper review and authorization of the warrant and other documents.

Liabilities
The monthly list of liabilities is not complete and is not reconciled to the municipal division's cash balance. Also, the municipal division allows defendants to pay fines and costs using a credit card and expenses for use of a credit card machine are paid from the municipal division bank account instead of by the city and are not recorded in the municipal division accounting system.

Traffic Ticket Accountability
Neither the city Police Department nor the municipal division adequately account for the numerical sequence and ultimate disposition of traffic tickets issued. The Police Department tracks the ticket book numbers assigned to each officer on a log; however, it was not complete. Voided tickets are not included in the police department's tracking system, tickets were not issued by officers in numerical sequence, and the disposition of each ticket is not recorded.

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