State To Begin County Audit, To Look Into Tax Levy Shortfall

The commission participated in a phone conference on April 19 with John Lieser, manager of the state auditor’s office, who explained what they can expect during an upcoming “regularly scheduled” audit of Ripley County.

Lieser told the commission the routine process could take up to six months from start to finish. Over the next few months county officials will be contacted individually and mostly questioned about policy and procedures.

“We do audits of third-class counties that don’t have a county auditor,” said Lieser, referencing Chapter 29 of the Missouri Statutes.

He added, “There is no charge to the county for the audit.”

The last one took place in 2016. The focus of this new audit will be on the year 2023; however, the report issued by the state auditor in 2016 will likely be referenced.

At that time auditors gave the county a “fair” rating.

According to a press release issued Monday by the Missouri State Auditor’s office, the 2016 “identified areas for improvement in the county collector’s office and raised concerns about the county’s use of public equipment to make improvements to personal property. Specifically, the audit found the county violated the state constitution when the road and bridge department provided grading services for residents in exchange for donations to the county that were never received.”

Lieser said this is not to be a financial statement audit, which is being done by a separate entity.

“We have different objectives,” he said.

This audit will focus on several key areas, including:

1. Evaluation of internal controls over significant management and financial functions.

2. Evaluate the county’s compliance with certain legal provisions.

3. Evaluate the economy and efficiency of certain management practices and procedures, including certain financial transactions.

The commission discussed a proposed ordinance regarding vendor liquor licenses.

Presiding Commissioner Jesse Roy said, “State law gives us the right, if someone comes in to sell liquor in the county and doesn’t have a license, to go before the judge and ask for an injunction to shut them down.”

The county attorney is working on a resolution that defines the county’s action regarding vendors who attempt to sell alcohol without procuring a license.

“I can see that happening in Ripley County, where vendors may want to try and come in and sell beer to people using the river. My concern isn’t just that they don’t have a license, but that they won’t be collecting county sales tax and reporting it,” said Roy.

The numbers have not been adding up.

There has been concern for some time that vendors who are coming into the area from other counties are not paying taxes on their sales in this county.

The county commission and county clerk’s office recently were able to access the sales tax reports, so that they can track what is being collected and which businesses are not collecting on the new sales tax rate that was approved in August 2022.

There were no vendors on the report, said Roy. “We are losing revenues, so we going to have to get to the bottom of this,” he commented.

The commission gave its approval for surplus tax money in the amount of $2,621.41 to be reimbursed to Regina and Sam Griffin, who were in the process of foreclosing on a piece of property that was included in the county’s delinquent tax sale on Aug. 28, 2023.

Roy explained that the money will be held until Nov. 28 of this year, which is 90 days after the year of redemption (in accordance with Missouri Statute 140.230).

Deducted from the selling price was $1,378.59, for county expenses.

The county tabled approval of the personnel manual changes, one of which is the marijuana policy and the other amendment relates to employee benefits, the “verbiage of which” Roy said needs to be better defined.

“I would rather approve all of the changes at once,” he said.

The 911 grant got approved last week, said Roy. “Hopefully by the end of the year, we will have that service up and going.”

The $16.5 million grant will integrate six counties that currently do not have 911 service.

Roy said, “We are actually ahead of some counties.” In fact, he said the city already has a dispatcher scheduled to be trained.

The benefit will be that when an emergency call is made from a cell phone anywhere in the county, a GPS tracker system will be able to pinpoint that person’s exact location.

The current system relies on the caller’s ability to give that information, for instance, when a person is lost or doesn’t know what the address is.

Another possible scenario would be a child dealing with a medical emergency or abduction who is able to use a phone and dial 911, but can’t answer questions about his or her location.

The directional arrows painted around the courthouse by Chad McKinney appear to have resolved the problem of drivers going the wrong way.

It was noted that McKinney completed the project to help route eclipse traffic, volunteering his time and labor and donating all the materials.

The 142E-24 low water bridge project will begin as soon as possible once school is out.

Road Crew Foreman Dale Beston estimated the cost of the project to be about $10,000, and it will include installation of aluminum culverts, with as much as 10 yards of concrete to help stabilize them. This will allow the bridge to be much more solid and to support much more weight than previously.

The $10,000 budget may also include hiring of a track hoe service to tear out the old bridge, which would free up time for the crew to work on its regular road maintenance schedule.

Beston also reported that he was able to get a better price for the part needed for the grader, and Mike Gossard and Billy Beston will be able to do the repairs, which will create further savings for the county.

Commissioner Gary Emmons said he will make the purchase arrangements.

Individuals may provide confidential information for consideration during the Ripley County audit by calling the hotline at 800-347-8597, or by email at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or by visiting www.auditor.mo.gov/hotline.