State auditor: Taney County needs improvement

A year after the state auditor issued Taney County its lowest rating, a follow-up report released today calls for continued improvements.

The office recommends county officials:

• use a competitive proposal process when hiring legal services;
• fully account for capital improvement and general sales taxes to make sure they are spent in accordance with the law; and
• make better estimates for various budget funds.

As of April, when the follow-up review was completed, Taney County had implemented 10 of the auditor’s 23 recommendations, started eight others and partially implemented five, according to a news release.

Among criticisms in the July 2014 audit, Taney County received a “poor” rating for:

• making a $1.2 million bond payment from its sewer fund because of inadequate planning;
• not receiving nearly $1 million in property tax assessment reimbursements from the state because of failure to comply with state law;
• failing to perform background checks on sensitive information technology positions;
• improperly separating sheriff’s and other office’s duties; and
• failing to adequately track money owed.

"The residents of Taney County deserve accountability and sound financial management practices from their local government officials," Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway said in the release. "Although some of the findings from the audit have been addressed, continued improvement will provide more efficient government operations for citizens."[[In-content Ad]]