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Auditor report finds risks in municipal courts

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State Auditor Nicole Galloway highlighted five high-risk areas in municipal court practices and financial activity in a report released Wednesday.

The report, based on audit findings from 18 municipal courts, identifies areas that affect court efficiency and violate state law.

“Municipal courts are charged with ensuring citizens follow the law, and they must be held to the same standard,” Galloway said. “Today’s report reveals that the problems we’ve seen in municipal courts are not limited to one part of the state or to one or two bad policies. We’ve seen repeated challenges that prevent Missourians from having the municipal courts they deserve. Courts should operate efficiently, effectively and fairly, and these audits shine a light on problems and make recommendations, so that work can begin toward regaining citizen trust.”

Missing funds was the first area of concern on the report’s list. Specifically, it said auditors identified $80,000 in missing funds from two municipal courts with an additional $31,000 likely missing as well.

The report recommended that municipal governments work with law enforcement officials to look into criminal actions related to the missing funds.

Second, the report identified a lack of oversight of financial practices in 16 municipal courts. It said these issues could lead to theft or misuse of funds.

Third, auditors identified $316,000 in fees collected that appeared improper or were assessed for the wrong amounts, based on poor record keeping. These issues included improper failure to appear and warrant fees, bond fees and booking fees.

Fourth, the department said several police departments failed to keep and provide traffic stop data for the auditor’s office as required by law.

The fifth area identified as an issue was excess revenue from traffic tickets, totaling more than $765,000 in five audits.

It also found that a city’s general operating revenue and the revenue generated by fines and court costs for traffic violations were both inaccurate in some cases.