10/23/2024 - Jefferson City, Mo.
According to a new report released today by State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, Butler County residents were overtaxed by approximately $222,770 over a three-year period because of a miscalculation by the County Clerk. The regularly-scheduled audit of Butler County also contains 10 other findings and gives the county an overall rating of "fair."
The report documents how the County Clerk failed to accurately calculate property tax levy reduction amounts, which resulted in approximately $222,770 in excess property taxes being collected for 2020, 2021, and 2022. Butler County voters had previously enacted a one-half cent sales tax with a provision to reduce property taxes by 50 percent of sales taxes collected. But when calculating the reduction, the County Clerk did not account for the difference between estimated and actual sales taxes collected for the preceding year. Based on the finding in the audit, the County Clerk has now agreed to calculate property tax rate reductions properly and to make a recommendation to the County Commission to take a voluntary reduction in odd years in order to recapture a portion of the amount over-collected.
The audit also found lacking controls and procedures in the Public Administrator's office that led to wards being charged excessive and unreasonable fees. A review of 11 wards found the Public Administrator charged fees that represented 17 to 226 percent of a ward's average monthly income. The fees for services associated with the annual settlement periods ranged from $289 to $1,359. The standard fee for preparing or reviewing annual settlements (3 hours) resulted in $135 charged to each ward regardless of the ward's financial activity. The report notes it is unlikely a ward's annual settlement would need 3 hours to review or prepare if the ward has limited financial activity. For two wards, the Public Administrator charged fees to issue a check and then subsequently charged fees to void and reissue these same checks. Seven wards were charged at least $22.50 for a bank reconciliation in months where they had no income or expense activity.
The audit also found the Public Administrator does not ensure ward bills are paid timely as a review of check registers and bills for 3 wards noted the Public Administrator paid room and board bills at least 30 days past their due dates and 60 days past the due date in one instance. The Public Administrator also needs to consistently file annual and final settlements timely, and adequately segregate accounting duties and perform documented supervisory reviews of detailed accounting and bank records.
"Taxpayers deserve a government that fairly and accurately assesses their taxes, and a significant over collection such as this should never happen. As our report shows, there are many areas where county officials need to make improvements in order to have a more efficient and effective government," said Fitzpatrick. "It's good to see Butler County officials have been receptive to most of our recommendations and are working to put them into place. However, I strongly urge the Public Administrator to follow the lead of other county officials who are appropriately responding to our findings, and immediately cease charging excessive fees to the wards under his care. These wards are the most vulnerable citizens of Butler County, and they deserve to be treated fairly by their county government."
Another finding in the report documents how the County Collector withheld $68,740 more from tax collections for the Assessment Fund than allowed by state law and disbursed less funds to taxing authorities. During that period, approximately $143,740 was withheld from property taxes for the Assessment Fund, which exceeded the $75,000 maximum amount allowed. Additionally, the County Collector does not have established procedures to follow up on outstanding checks issued from the county's accounts. A review found more than 80 checks for a total amount of greater than $18,000 that were outstanding for more than a year. The report also notes the County Collector does not compare the protested tax bank account balances to a list of liabilities, and does not prepare a monthly list of liabilities for the main and drainage bank accounts.
The audit report also reviewed the Board for the Care of the Handicapped and found it does not adequately monitor payments and uses of funding to not-for-profit (NFP) entities. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Board received property taxes and other receipts totaling approximately $674,604 to provide sheltered workshop and transportation services to developmentally disabled citizens. The audit found the contracted NFP entities did not provide the Board information required by the contracts, including projects undertaken and progress towards achieving goals; monthly financial reports, including an accounting of all receipts and disbursements of all funds; and other documentation such as the sale, lease, or transfer of real or personal property.
Additionally, the NFP entities did not provide the Board documentation of their beginning or projected ending cash balances on annual funding requests. The report notes that without this documentation the Board cannot adequately monitor how funds are spent and ensure the funds are used appropriately.
Other findings in the audit report include lacking controls and procedure over the county's property tax system, insufficient controls and procedures in the Prosecuting Attorney's Office that have resulted in more than $23,000 in outstanding checks, a $21,732 mid-term salary increase for the Sheriff that violates the constitution and state law, excessive credit card limits and a failure to monitor the limits of county credit cards, a failure to adopt a written policy regarding public access to county records as required by state law, insufficient security controls over county computers, and the lack of a records management and retention policy that includes electronic communication.
The complete audit of Butler
County can be found here.
