JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Pine Lawn municipal court does not have complete and accurate files for some cases, including missing tickets, dockets and warrants, according to an audit released Tuesday by State Auditor Nicole Galloway’s office.
The audit also found about $14,000 in bond processing fees collected by the police department without authority under state law and miscalculations about the amount owed to the state for excess revenues generated from traffic violations. The audit found the city owes the Department of Revenue more than $400,000.
“The issues my team found in Pine Lawn, including missing tickets and improper fees, directly affect citizens’ trust in government,” Galloway said in a statement. “I’ve made a series of recommendations in the audit report to improve services and, hopefully, help rebuild that trust.”
The audit found that about 640 tickets issued were missing over a one-year period and city personnel could not find the majority of those tickets during the course of the audit.
Also, $15,000 in bond payments, made electronically, were recorded but not deposited into a city account in 2015 and 2016. The city’s vendor confirmed to the auditor that a processing error prevented the deposits from occurring. While the vendor deposited the money into the city’s account, the missing money had gone unnoticed by the city.
The audit also found that Pine Lawn did not retain adequate records to support 2014 vehicle stop data submitted to the attorney general’s office.
The audit was completed under the auditor’s Municipal Courts Initiative.
“Every public office should provide efficient, reliable services to citizens, but the operations of our local courts are particularly impactful,” Galloway said. “For many Missourians, municipal courts provide the most direct interaction they’ll have with government and with our state’s justice system.”
Under the initiative the audit looks to:
- Evaluate the municipal division’s internal controls over significant financial functions.
- Evaluate the municipal division’s and city’s compliance with certain legal provisions.
- Evaluate the municipal division’s compliance with certain court rules.
- Evaluate the city’s compliance with state laws restricting the amount of certain court revenues that may be retained.
Overall, the Pine Lawn municipal court, located in St. Louis County, received the auditor’s lowest rating of poor. According to the auditor, a poor rating means, “this entity needs to significantly improve operations. The report contains numerous findings that require management’s immediate attention, and/or the entity has indicated most recommendations will not be implemented. In addition, if applicable, most prior recommendations have not been implemented.”
