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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Town of Dix (Town) Justices collected, recorded, deposited, reported and remitted Justice Court (Court) collections and reported adjudicated cases in a timely and accurate manner.

Key Findings

The Justices did not ensure all collections were properly collected, recorded, deposited, reported and remitted in a timely and accurate manner, or that all adjudicated cases were reported.

• The Justices did not provide adequate oversight of the clerk, ensure she was properly trained or prepare monthly accountabilities. As a result, recording and reporting errors occurred, causing the Court to owe the Office of the State Comptroller’s Justice Court Fund (JCF) $21,204, victims $1,701 and defendants $439.
• The Court’s computerized accounting system software did not require sequentially issued receipts, and allowed the Court clerk (clerk) to delete or modify transactions without supervisory approval or the creation of an audit log.
• 186 adjudicated cases were not accurately reported to the DMV.
• Justice Gregory had a shortage totaling $119 that remained through Justice Vondracek’s term.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure that monthly accountabilities of all Court accounting records are completed. Review the recording and reporting errors identified in this report and make necessary corrections.
• Upgrade the Court’s computerized accounting system software to a more secure version.

Town officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.