Month: January 2021

State Auditor’s Office Releases Audit of Orange County:County Finances Not Being Managed in a Sound Manner;Numerous Internal Control Deficiencies NotedMONTPELIER – Finances at the Orange County Courthouse are not being handled ina fiscally responsible manner, and poor management by the county’s elected assistant judgeshas contributed to the problem, according to a 32-page report released today by the Office ofState Auditor Tom Salmon, CPA.Salmon commissioned the audit in May before he was called to active duty as a memberof the U.S. Navy Reserve; he is now deployed in Iraq. The audit initially targeted payrollprocedures due to citizen concerns about possible improprieties, but was broadened to includea range of internal controls and financial procedures and transactions.”We found a number of financial errors, poor procedures and controls, missingdocumentation and weak record-keeping,” said Deputy State Auditor George Thabault, “butwe did not find evidence of any misappropriation of assets.” Questioned costs on a number ofmatters totaled $7,337, some of which has already been paid back to the county.The report noted that many problems stem from the fact that the county has notestablished adequate accounting and personnel policies and procedures, and that there is alack of segregation of duties and insufficient review of county disbursements. (Segregation ofduties is the division of key duties and responsibilities among different staff to reduce the riskof errors and fraud.)Auditors noted, among other findings:- some employee earned benefits which were not accounted for sufficiently, andsignificant compensatory time (‘comp time’) of 213 hours and $3,648 for oneemployee could not be substantiated by any documentation;- one employee was paid for 80 hours in a pay period but only had 59 hours markedon the time sheet; the employee was also overpaid $523 when the county paid for aretroactive raise;- the county did not make timely deposits of federal income taxes;- the county incorrectly calculated accrued vacation and sick time for employees;- the county clerk is not authorized under state law to sign checks, but signed about25 percent of checks tested;- the county maintains five bank accounts with the Mascoma Savings Bank, andaccount reconciliations were often performed late, had significant unreconcileddifferences, and were not reviewed by a supervisor; and- county officers were not complying with several state statutes that require certainquarterly and annual financial reports, and publication of annual financial details inlocal newspapers.Among other minor errors, auditors found that two employees did not withhold or payenough to cover the cost of dental insurance premiums for family members. Both have sincereimbursed the county a total of $638. Auditors issued approximately 30 recommendations toimprove policies, procedures and monitoring of county disbursements.The business operations of Orange County government are directed by Assistant JudgesPrudence Pease and Maurice Brown. Assistant judges are elected for four-year terms byCounty voters.The Orange County assistant judges currently receive a salary of $9,500 each per year,with health and other benefits; the county budget is approximately $700,000. All CountyAssistant Judges also receive State part-time compensation at $142.04 a day for judicial dutiesperformed in Family Court, Superior Court, Traffic Court, meetings and trainings.In their response to the audit, the assistant judges expressed general agreement with thefindings; they noted they have already improved procedures related to reporting state funds,and promised to quickly implement fiscal management procedures to address the reportsrecommendations.Please note:The full report can be found on State Auditor Tom Salmon’s web sitewww.auditor.vermont.gov(link is external)(Click on Audits and Reports, then Special Audits.)– 30 — read more