09/27/2021
State Auditor Nicole Galloway
released today her regularly scheduled audit of McDonald County, located in
southwest Missouri. The audit report, which makes several
recommendations to improve the efficiency of county government, gave a rating
of "good."
A prior audit of McDonald County, issued in September 2016, issued an overall rating
of "fair."
"My audit identified several
areas for improvement that county government officials have shown a willingness
to address,” Auditor Galloway said. "By doing so, McDonald County can be
more efficient and effective with taxpayer dollars."
Auditors found that in 2018, the
County Commission purchased two parcels of land from a County Commissioner for
$75,000. County purchasing of property owned by a current County Commissioner
is in violation of a Missouri law, which prohibits county commissioners from
becoming a party to any contract to which the county is a party. The County
Commissioner involved in the sale is no longer a member of the commission.
The audit also identified a need for
better internal controls over seized property and bank reconciliations
performed by the Sheriff's Office; as well as a need to improve financial
procedures over monies collected by the Prosecuting Attorney.
A copy of the audit can be found here.
