Sweden Supervisor Rob Carges says the town has put in place many of the changes recommended by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s Office in an audit of the town Justice Court released the week of February 23.
The audit found court justices, “Do not provide adequate oversight of court operations to ensure the accurate and complete collection, deposit, recording and reporting of court moneys in a timely manner.”
“The court is kind of its own entity,” Supervisor Carges observes. “Towns are not supposed to be involved; oversight of the court itself is not the town’s duty.”
Carges also noted that although the audit was critical, “Audits are always a good thing. I’ve met with two of the justices. They will change things – it’s up to them to follow-through.”
The audit, which reviewed court processes and procedures between January 1, 2013 and September 4, 2014, also found justices have not adequately segregated the duties of the clerks and do not regularly review accounting records, bank statements, or monthly reconciliations and accountability analyses. Seventy-one receipts were not deposited within 72 hours of receipt and various receipts or transactions were deleted from the system without a valid, documented reason.
Additionally, the audit found that the justices have not developed a policy or procedures to enforce the collection of unpaid fees and fines which resulted in 34 unpaid tickets not being submitted to the DMV scofflaw program and five tickets incorrectly reported as disposed of to the DMV. The court also is not collecting all potential revenue, the audit states.
Recommendations made to justices by the state include corrective action to ensure the court clerks’ duties are adequately segregated, reception and review of bank statements and cancelled check images directly from the bank; review of bank statements, bank reconciliations, and accountability analyses and the court’s accounting records on a regular basis; require the use of manual press-numbered duplicate receipts or work with a software vendor to correct system deficiencies that allow receipts to be altered or deleted; ensure all collections are deposited within 72 hours; and ensure all traffic tickets that are unresolved after 60 days are reported to the DMV for scofflaw.
Carges and justices Robert Connors, Kevin Johnson, and Mark Depferd, have submitted a letter of response and a Corrective Action Plan to the state including an enhanced oversight program which has already been implemented. The Corrective Action Plan also includes the establishment by the justices of on-line access to their individual court bank accounts at the bank so they can access all account information directly from the bank.
Additionally, justices will examine their accounts no less than once a month -including reconciling and comparing items to ensure that the financial affairs and accounts of the court are being handled accurately, thoroughly and in a timely manner.
Clerks of the court have been instructed to immediately report any traffic tickets which remain unresolved after 60 days to the DMV for scofflaw with oversight by the justices.
The Corrective Plan states that court clerks and justices will work together to determine the most appropriate course of action for collection of fines and surcharges on case by case basis.
“In the instances where it is apparent that a defendant has no intention of paying a fine and surcharge, or where a defendant is unable to pay a fine and surcharge, the court will continue its practice of converting such a fine and surcharge to a civil judgment,” the Corrective Plan states.
