[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Town of Bainbridge (Town) Justices ensured money due to the Court was accurately collected, recorded and reported and deposited in a timely manner.

Key Findings

The Justices did not always ensure money due to the Court was collected, deposited, recorded and reported in an accurate and timely manner.

• The Justices deposited 220 collections totaling $35,771 after the three-day limit.
• The Justices did not perform bank reconciliations and monthly accountabilities. As a result, six collections that were not correctly deposited were not identified. In addition, we found their combined cash balances exceeded liabilities by $4,129. The Justices cannot account for the source of this money.

Key Recommendations

The Justices should:

• Deposit collections within three days of collecting them.
• Perform monthly accountabilities and ensure the clerk performs accurate monthly bank reconciliations.
• Determine the source of unidentified cash balances and report it to the Justice Court Fund (JCF).

Town officials disagreed with certain aspects of our findings and recommendations, but indicated they have initiated corrective action. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the Town’s response letter.