State Auditor Nicole Galloway released today her regularly scheduled audit of McDonald County, located in southwest Missouri. The audit report, which makes several recommendations to improve the efficiency of county government, gave a rating of “good.”
A prior audit of McDonald County, issued in September 2016, issued an overall rating of “fair.”
“My audit identified several areas for improvement that county government officials have shown a willingness to address,” Auditor Galloway said. “By doing so, McDonald County can be more efficient and effective with taxpayer dollars.”
Auditors found that in 2018, the County Commission purchased two parcels of land from a County Commissioner for $75,000. County purchasing of property owned by a current County Commissioner is in violation of a Missouri law, which prohibits county commissioners from becoming a party to any contract to which the county is a party. The County Commissioner involved in the sale is no longer a member of the commission.
The audit also identified a need for better internal controls over seized property and bank reconciliations performed by the Sheriff’s Office; as well as a need to improve financial procedures over monies collected by the Prosecuting Attorney.
A copy of the audit can be found here.
