Tuesday, June 29, I will be travelling to St. Louis to present the state audit report on the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit of the City of St. Louis (the Office of the Circuit Clerk and related functions). If you are in St. Louis, please come by the Wainwright Building downtown at 1:00 pm for my public delivery. If you are unable to make it, this report will be available online at 1:00 pm at www.auditor.mo.gov.

Monday I will be travelling to Richmond to present the audit of the City of Richmond. If you are in Northwest Missouri, please come by the Richmond City Hall at 6:30 pm for my public delivery. If you are unable to make it, don’t worry because this report will be available online at 6:30 pm at www.auditor.mo.gov.

Thursday I will be travelling to Ozark to present the audit of Christian County. If you are in Southwest Missouri, please come by the Christian County Courthouse at 7:00 pm for my public delivery. If you are unable to make it, don’t worry because this report will be available online at 7:00 pm at www.auditor.mo.gov.

Thursday I will be traveling to St. Louis to present two state audit reports on the City of St. Louis (the Office of the Sheriff and the Department of Public Utilities). If you are in St. Louis, please come by the Wainwright Building downtown at 2:30 pm for my public delivery. If you are unable to make it, don’t worry because this report will be available online at 2:30 pm at www.auditor.mo.gov.

2010 is the beginning of a new decade and the year I am on the ballot for my re-election. My first term as your Missouri State Auditor has been an incredible experience for me. I am proud of the efforts of my office. I feel that our audits have given political subdivisions a blueprint for positive changes that allow them to operate more efficiently and be held accountable for taxpayer dollars.

2009 was a very busy year in the state auditor’s office. We released over 150 audit reports- a new record for the volume of reports released under my administration. Some of these audits received a high amount of media attention, such as: the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District, the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners, the audits of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Liberty 53 School District and the Missouri Housing Development Commission. Other audits did not have as much media attention but the audit findings are significant to residents of those communities. Examples of these would be: the City of Hayti Heights, the City of St. Joseph, Crystal City and the City of Ozark.

My office has also been busy tracking all the stimulus dollars coming into the Missouri treasury. The daily tracking of these monies is available at www.auditor.mo.gov. Our office was even selected to particulate in a federal pilot program to track these monies.

I am proud of the accomplishments of 2009 and look forward to a very productive year in 2010.

-Susan

This is a lighthearted video holiday greeting that I am very excited to share with you. I hope you enjoy watching the video, I know I certainly had a very fun time making it.  Have a wonderful holiday season and I look forward to seeing you in 2010!

Welcome to SusanMontee.com! My goal for this web site is to engage and inform all of you in and about my re-election campaign for the Missouri State Auditor. On this site, you will find information about the Missouri State Auditor’s office, current and ongoing state audit reports and information about upcoming events. You can also find out information about how to volunteer with my campaign, make a donation and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have information about waste, fraud or abuse of tax dollars, please refer that information to my state web page, www.auditor.mo.gov. All information is kept confidential and may be used when conducting upcoming audits. The Missouri State Auditor’s office is also in the process of updating and editing the 2009-2010 Audit Plan. If you have any suggestions for audits to consider performing in the near future, please contact the Missouri State Auditor’s office.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for my web page, or about my upcoming re-election, please email those to me at .

Being the Missouri State Auditor is the best job I have ever had. I am able to use my legal and accounting background on a daily basis, all the while being the official watchdog of Missouri State Government and your tax dollars. Thank you for the opportunity to serve Missouri and I look forward to another productive term starting in 2011.

Best,

Susan

(JEFFERSON CITY, MO) – State Auditor Susan Montee released three reports on the audit of the City of St. Louis. These reports looked at the City of St. Louis Office of Comptroller, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry, and City of St. Louis Office of Treasurer.

The Comptroller’s Office processes approximately $13.5 million through its payroll computer system each pay period. The 1970’s era payroll computer system does not provide the information necessary to efficiently operate the city and is heavily reliant on manual processes. In addition, the 1980’s era financial computer system utilized by the Comptroller’s Office does not provide the information necessary to efficiently operate the city. Of the eleven city offices contacted, eight maintain additional separate financial records because the city’s system does not provide adequate information. The Comptroller used a city-owned vehicle for commuting purposes and did not report the commuting mileage as additional compensation. Also included in the audit report are recommendations related to revenue maximization, capital asset controls and procedures, and federal travel advances.

The Forestry Division is not adequately documenting adjustments and write-offs made in the billing system. The employees who authorized and posted the adjustments or write-offs are not identified and the reason and supporting documentation are not maintained. An administrative fee of 10 percent is added to each customer’s bill for handling the billings of the Department of Public Safety, Building Division; however, the Forestry Division had no documentation to show how the administrative fee was determined and does not have written authorization to charge this administrative fee. Further, the Forestry Division has not entered into a written agreement for grass cutting, weed maintenance, and debris removal on property owned by the Land Reutilization Authority and the Parks Division performed grass cutting services without charge for a not-for-profit organization, which is prohibited by the Missouri Constitution. Also, some emergency purchases did not appear to meet the city’s definition of “emergency” and the department does not have one individual responsible for approving emergency purchases. It appears the department may be using emergency purchases to circumvent normal city purchasing procedures.

The Treasurer’s Office is comprised of the Treasury Division and the Parking Division. At March 10, 2008, city funds held by the Treasurer’s Office totaled approximately $41 million in bank accounts and $292 million in various investments. The Parking Division had not ensured a developer complied with contract terms regarding invoices, documentation, and payment for the Euclid/Buckingham garage under construction. As of December 31, 2007, the Treasurer’s Office had paid the developer $3 million of the $4 million contract for construction; however, billings and payments to-date significantly exceeded the actual construction progress. Additionally, the Treasurer’s Office does not have a formal procurement policy. Costs were incurred during the eighteen months ended December 31, 2007, for some professional services without soliciting competitive bids/proposals, including legal services, financial advisory services, investment management services, feasibility studies, and engineering services. The Treasurer’s Office did not execute formal written contracts for these legal services, engineering services, and feasibility study services as required by state law. Payments made to the contractor responsible for processing parking tickets during the eighteen months ended December 31, 2007, totaled about $2.7 million. The Treasurer’s Office does not adequately verify the contractor’s monthly billings and the contract was amended in March 2005 to provide additional bonuses while requiring no increased services. Further, vehicle usage/maintenance logs are not complete and the review of fuel usage is not adequately documented.

The district spent more than it received during the 2006-2007 budget year, resulting in a decline of the district’s ending fund balance in the Combined Operating Funds. As a result of the decline in the district’s fund balance, the district approached the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) “financially stressed” classification. The district’s overspending was primarily caused by the construction of the sports complex.

While the district’s financial condition improved during the 2007-2008 school year, the district obtained a $250,000 loan, approved carrying some payroll payments into the next year to reflect a more positive fund balance, and did not transfer monies from the General Fund to the Special Revenue Fund each month as required by state law and DESE policy. In addition, tax rates were levied incorrectly during the 2007 tax year resulting in approximately $107,000 being owed to the Capital Projects Fund from the district’s General Fund. Also, the School Board amended its budgets after the actual disbursements had exceeded the original budgeted amounts, and budgets prepared by the district were not accurate and complete making it difficult for the district to effectively monitor its financial condition.

The district did not prepare comprehensive formal plans or adequate cost estimates and monitor the overall costs for the sports complex project which cost over $400,000 to construct. The district did not retain adequate documentation of the various bids received or the selection process for awarding bids for many of the costs related to the sports complex project. The district also temporarily hired three employees of a local contractor to avoid paying prevailing wages.

It is questionable if one board member complied with the district’s nepotism and conflict of interest policy. The board member was awarded a no-bid contract for a bus route prior to resigning from the School Board.

The district does not have formal written bidding policies and procedures, and bids were not always solicited or bid documentation was not retained for several items and professional services. The district sold bonds through a negotiated instead of competitive sale, and the board did not select the underwriter or bond counsel competitively.

Bids have not been solicited for transportation services in several years, and the district does not prepare IRS Forms 1099 Miscellaneous for payments made to the bus drivers. The district’s 13 bus drivers were paid approximately $352,000 during the 2007-2008 school year.

The district has not adopted formal policies and procedures for the use of its credit cards, and the board has failed to implement recommendations related to district credit cards made by its independent auditor during the past two audits. The school district has 16 credit cards, and purchases on the cards totaled approximately $55,000 during the 2007-2008 school year.

The school district has not established policies and procedures regarding additional compensation. As a result, the district paid various employees additional compensation and did not include the payments on the employees’ W-2 forms or subject the payments to payroll tax withholdings. In addition, extra duty contracts were not entered into and documentation was not prepared to support additional compensation paid.

Improvement is needed over payroll policies and procedures. Duties are not adequately segregated and timesheets and leave records were not adequately maintained. Some employees had negative leave balances at the end of the school year. District policy provides for employees to be paid for unused sick leave at the end of each school year as an incentive for not taking leave, but also compensates the employees again for unused sick leave at the time employment is terminated or at retirement. Some personnel handbooks did not agree to approved board policies.

The district has not established adequate policies for handling meal collections. In addition, controls over other district receipts, petty cash, change funds, and vending machine proceeds need improvement.

The district did not document how some issues discussed and votes taken in closed meetings were allowable under the Sunshine Law. Board meeting minutes did not always include sufficient detail of matters discussed, and minutes did not always appear accurate. District business was occasionally conducted outside of regular open meetings, minutes were not always prepared for study sessions, and minutes were not signed by the preparer.

Also included in the audit report are findings related to disbursements, fuel purchases, cellular phones, accounting procedures and district policies, school safety issues, and capital asset records and procedures.

Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor’s Office
.gov