Report No. 2009-139
December 2009
Complete Audit Report
The following findings were included in our audit report on the Seventh Judicial Circuit, City of Mosby Municipal Division.
Receipts totaling at least $6,445 were received by the City of Mosby Municipal Division during the period June 2008 through October 2008, but were not deposited. The Chief of Police indicated he reported an alleged fraud to the County Prosecuting Attorney after he discovered some municipal division monies received were not deposited, monthly court reports were not prepared, and Crime Victims Compensation (CVC) monies were not remitted to the state. In addition to the missing monies, the current Court Administrator has been unable to locate many court documents including the following: some case files/tickets, several court dockets, and some deposit slips, monthly court reports, bank statements, and receipt slips. Lack of internal controls and bond and ticket accountability, as well as no independent review of the Court Administrator's work, allowed the missing monies to go undetected.
The various duties of the municipal division are not adequately segregated, and the work of the Court Administrator is not adequately reviewed. Receipt slips were not issued for some monies received, the numerical sequence of receipt slips issued from June through October 2008 could not be accounted for, a cash control record was not maintained, and no record was maintained to indicate the individual receipts making up each deposit. In addition, receipts were not deposited intact on a timely basis and bond forms issued by the Police Department are not prenumbered. Prior to January 2009, monthly bank reconciliations for the municipal division bond account were not performed and lists of liabilities were not maintained to account for bonds held for defendants. The current Court Administrator was only able to identify $2,100 in open bonds as of January 2009, leaving an unidentified difference of $7,095 in the bond account. Checks and money orders received by the municipal division are not restrictively endorsed until the deposit is prepared. Neither the Court Administrator nor the Police Department account for the numerical sequence and ultimate disposition of traffic tickets issued.
While the city has an ordinance requiring the collection of $2 per case for Law Enforcement Training (LET), this fee is not collected. Judicial Education Fund (JEF) fees have not been deposited to the JEF bank account since May 2008 and court costs collected on traffic tickets were not always distributed to the state. Monthly summary reports were not always submitted to the Office of State Courts Administrator as required, and a final court docket is not prepared.
Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov