Report No. 2011-84
October 2011
Complete Report
Findings in the audit of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, City of Pacific Municipal Division
Controls and Procedures
The municipal division needs to improve its internal controls and procedures. An independent comparison of receipt slips issued to deposits is not performed, deposits are not made timely, and the police department does not transmit bond monies to the municipal division promptly, all of which make it difficult to ensure transactions are accounted for properly and assets are protected. The municipal division does not account for the numerical sequence of receipt slips and does not follow up on outstanding checks. The municipal division does not ensure insufficient funds checks are collected and posted to the defendant's case file as amounts still owed.
Bond Liabilities
The municipal division does not adequately reconcile the bond account to the bond liabilities list. The bond account is short $357 due to five instances over the past 8 years where a defendant was refunded too much money. Also, 41 bonds (totaling $8,977) have been held for more than a year, and four of these date back more than 10 years.
Ticket Accountability
Neither the municipal division nor the police department account for the numerical sequence of tickets issued, so there is no assurance all tickets have been properly submitted to the municipal division for processing.
In the areas audited, the overall performance of this entity was Fair.*
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 (Federal Stimulus)
The Twentieth Judicial Circuit, City of Pacific Municipal Division, did not receive any federal stimulus monies during the audited time period.
*The rating(s) cover only audited areas and do not reflect an opinion on the overall operation of the entity. Within that context, the rating scale indicates the following:
Excellent:
The audit results indicate this entity is very well managed. The report contains no findings. In addition, if applicable, prior recommendations have been implemented.
Good:
The audit results indicate this entity is well managed. The report contains few findings, and the entity has indicated most or all recommendations have already been, or will be, implemented. In addition, if applicable, many of the prior recommendations have been implemented.
Fair:
The audit results indicate this entity needs to improve operations in several areas. The report contains several findings, or one or more findings that require management's immediate attention, and/or the entity has indicated several recommendations will not be implemented. In addition, if applicable, several prior recommendations have not been implemented.
Poor:
The audit results indicate this entity needs to significantly improve operations. The report contains numerous findings that require management's immediate attention, and/or the entity has indicated most recommendations will not be implemented. In addition, if applicable, most prior recommendations have not been implemented.
Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov
