Results of Garden City Audit
Posted By J.T. on October 25, 2009
The Missouri State Auditor has released the results of an audit of the Garden City Municipal Court.
Garden City residents had filed a petition for the audit. Objectives of the audit were to evaluate the municipal division’s internal controls over significant financial functions such as receipts and evaluate the municipal division’s compliance with certain legal provisions.
Its findings stated the municipal division’s controls, records and procedures need improvement.
“Bond forms issued by the police department are not prenumbered. Receipt ledgers are not adequate for the court costs and fines account and bond account. Although a court docket is prepared, the docket does not include the violation date or the amount of assessed costs and the date paid. Also, the final disposition of each case is not consistently documented on court dockets or case files. The municipal division does not adequately account for the disbursement of municipal division monies. Check numbers are not identified in the check registry for the court costs and fines account.”
In regards to traffic tickets, the audit stated “neither the police department nor the municipal division adequately account for the numerical sequence and ultimate disposition of traffic tickets issued. Not all traffic tickets are recorded in the police department’s computer system, and some tickets are recorded incorrectly.”
From the Cass County Democrat-Missourian:
Chris Benjamin, municipal judge, said the auditors reviewed the results with him, the court clerk and the chief of police.
“What we are very happy with is that there were no major issues found,” Benjamin said.
The auditor’s office made suggestion’s for accounting improvements, each of which had been implemented according to the report.
Benjamin said several of the findings in the audit dealt with issues from years ago that have since been resolved.“Pretty much every accounting process (the auditors) recommended, the city of Garden City has already implemented,” Benjamin said. “I don’t believe that there are any of those issues that still need to be addressed.”
You can view the full report HERE.
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