06/23/2021
Missouri State Auditor
Nicole Galloway today released a report covering the Clay County Sheriff's
Office. The report is part of a comprehensive review of Clay County government
initiated by citizens through the petition audit process.
"The taxpayers that
initiated this audit of Clay County made it clear they wanted a thorough,
independent review of their county government. This is the fourth report we have
issued to do just that," Auditor Galloway said. "I appreciate the
sheriff's commitment to address the findings in the report and ensure his
office is operating as efficiently as possible on behalf of Clay County
citizens."
The report made
recommendations to improve accounting processes in the sheriff's office,
including ensuring deposits are made timely and the numerical sequence of
manual receipts is accounted for. The report also recommended the county have
written agreements with other counties and cities that board prisoners in the
Clay County Jail and ensure current arrangements are cost effective for the
county.
The sheriff's office
committed to addressing the findings in the audit, which received an overall
rating of good. The complete audit report is available here.
The audit of Clay County
was initiated after a citizen petition was submitted to the State Auditor's
Office and then verified to have more than the minimum 5,590 signatures of
county residents who are registered voters. The audit faced several legal
challenges by former members of the Clay County Commission including a lawsuit
to prevent the Auditor from conducting the citizen-mandated audit. Earlier this
year, the current county commission dropped all legal objections to ongoing
audit work.
In 2020, the State
Auditor’s Office released reports on the Clay County clerk, public
administrator and recorder of deeds. A final report on the county commission
and other county offices is expected to be released before the end of the year.
