Follow-up review notes new procedures in place to prevent loss or theft
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway issued a follow-up report on the Ferguson Municipal Court. Her 2017 audit report found disorganized, damaged and unsecured case files, as well as a lack of oversight that resulted in at least $1,400 in missing funds.
“My last audit discovered careless and disorganized records management that led to serious questions as to the ability of the court to effectively serve citizens,” Auditor Galloway said. “While there is still work that needs to be done, efforts are underway to address the audit findings and implement better processes moving forward.”
The follow-up review found that while personnel have not pursued criminal prosecution or restitution for the at least $1,400 in missing money, they have worked to implement new procedures to better prevent and detect loss or theft in the future.
The 2017 audit report found records were difficult to obtain due to storage issues. The State Auditor’s Office was ultimately forced to take the unprecedented step of hiring a mold remediation company to recover and preserve available records in order to complete the audit. The progress report found that no effort has been made to remediate the remaining records and that older records continue to be housed in an unsecure location. Records are now stored in several locations, but access to more recent records is limited to court personnel.
The municipal division has instituted new procedures to ensure independent reviews of records, financial activity and modifications to transactions. The court also has a system in place to better document reviews of closed cases and dismissed tickets.
Auditor Galloway has worked to bring attention to common concerns in municipal courts statewide and, in 2016, was presented with the Missouri NAACP 2016 Game Changer Award for her municipal court work. Municipal court audits have raised concerns with operations and practices across the state, ranging from inaccurate records and court files to thousands of dollars in illegal fees charged to citizens. Auditor Galloway said her efforts to shine light on these problems can help spur important reforms on the local level.
The complete follow-up report on Ferguson Municipal Court is available here.
