Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the Probation Department’s collections and disbursements processes for the period January 1, 2014 through September 18, 2015.

Background

Chemung County is located in the southern tier of New York State, has a population of approximately 88,000 and is composed of one city, 11 towns and five villages. The County is governed by an elected 15-member County Legislature. The County’s Probation Department assists in reducing the incidence of crime by probationers in the community and is the designated agency for the collection of court-ordered restitution, surcharges and administrative fees for probation and nonprobation cases.

Key Findings

• Due to a lack of oversight and policies, delinquent accounts are prevalent.
• Undisbursed restitution payments held by the Department were not paid in a timely manner.
• The administrative assistant collected all payments received by mail, had custody of all payments received by the principal clerks each day and prepared and made bank deposits.

Key Recommendations

• Establish and consistently enforce written policies and procedures for enforcing timely collections of restitution, designated surcharges and electronic home monitoring fees.
• Formally establish a time frame to disburse restitution payments held by the Department.
• Ensure that financial duties are adequately segregated or implement supervisory or other compensating controls.