08/09/2016
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released her audit of the Huntsville municipal court, located in northern central Missouri. Auditors found that the court had collected two potentially improper fees, a warrant fee of $25 and a contempt fee of $25 for failure to appear in court or pay money owed to the court. After auditors raised concerns, the court stopped assessing the fees, which were not allowed under state law.
"This is how audits should work. Our team identified issues, and court and city officials took steps to change those practices and better serve citizens," Auditor Galloway said. "I am pleased the court has stopped charging taxpayers these improper fees, and I'm encouraged by their changes to policies to increase oversight of court funds."
Auditors recommended increased safeguards for the court's finances after finding that the municipal judge and city personnel did not perform adequate supervisory reviews of the court's only employee dealing with accounting records. They also found that the court did not have sufficient procedures to oversee open bonds and costs owed to the court, such as fines and fees. Additionally, the court did not notify the Missouri Department of Revenue to request driver license suspension when defendants failed to pay fines and court costs, a step intended to increase payments to the court.
Auditors also reviewed for compliance with state laws restricting the amount of certain court revenues that may be retained. They found that the court lacked procedures to properly track minor traffic tickets and associated fines and costs. The city calculated that it did not owe anything to the state because of excess revenues from traffic violations, but city officials did not retain documentation to support their calculation and the calculation may be inaccurate.
Huntsville is the county seat of Randolph County. The audit report received an overall rating of "Good" and can be found online here.
