Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the internal controls over the Department’s revenue collections for the period January 1, 2012 through October 9, 2013.

Background

Columbia County is governed by a Board of Supervisors which is composed of 23 members, one of whom also serves as the Board Chair. The Chair is the County's chief executive officer. In 2012, the County's total expenditures were $145,141,973. The County's budgeted total expenditures for 2013 are $155,251,604. The County Department of Weights and Measures (Department) is under the general oversight of the County Government Committee (Committee).

Key Findings

• The Committee and Board have not established effective internal controls over the Department’s revenue collections. As a result, there are no written policies and procedures covering revenue collections and a lack of segregation of incompatible duties. Formal bank reconciliations are not performed and Committee members do not review monthly reports provided by the Director for accuracy or completeness.

• The Department does not charge inspection fees up to the maximum amounts permitted by Regulation. If the Department had charged the allowable inspection fees and penalties, it could nearly have generated sufficient revenue to more closely match its operating costs.

Key Recommendations

• Establish, implement, and monitor written policies and procedures for all Department operations, and regularly review and update them.
• Consider whether penalty and fee schedules should be amended so that the Department can generate enough revenue to cover its operating costs.