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Audit recommends improved accountability in Iron County’s government

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A county located in southeast Missouri may doing “good” but there is still room for improvements, according to recently-released audit findings.

On Thursday, the State Auditor’s Office released their regularly scheduled analysis of Iron County. The review of county government operations, which gave a rating of “good,” made recommendations in several areas to improve accountability of how taxpayer dollars are used. The previous audit of Iron County, done in 2014, had received a rating of “fair.”

“Our audits not only highlight areas of concern for local officials and taxpayers, they also include specific recommendations for those officials to implement in order to more effectively use public resources,” said Galloway. “As the responses to the Iron County audit indicate, county officials appear to be taking these recommendations seriously and are already putting many of them into place.”

Findings included the need for greater security for computer passwords, the need to properly approve the Senate Bill 40 property tax rate, and the need to ensure that all employee compensation in the County Collector’s Office is paid through the appropriate process.

The report also found that accounting procedures in some of the operations of the Sheriff’s Office needed improvement. These included the timely disbursement of fees and other receipts and the need for proper controls to ensure collection and transmittal of amounts billed and received for the boarding of prisoners.

A copy of the Iron County audit is available here.