STATE AUDITS FINANCES IN PERRY COUNTY

JEFFERSON CITY -- Findings of a recent state audit show that Perry County did not prepare budgets for some county operating funds during the 1997 and 1998 budget years.

However, Perry County Clerk Randy Taylor said those funds identified by the auditors have been included in the county's 1999 budget.

Overall the report by State Auditor Claire McCaskill's staff was positive. The report said the financial statements provided "present fairly, in all material respects, the receipts, disbursements and changes in cash of various funds of Perry County." "Everything was pretty straight forward and in good shape," Taylor said of the audit. "They seemed to think the county is being run pretty well. We were pleased with it."The audit report, which covered finances for 1997 and 1998, was released earlier this week. The auditor's office staff completed fieldwork for the report in July.

The report noted that formal budgets for 10 funds totaling more than $1.5 million -- 22 percent of total expenditures -- were not prepared for 1997. The two largest funds identified were for the county health center building, nearly $1 million, and the new multipurpose building, $402,547.

Seven of those funds were included in the 1998 budget.

The audit for 1998 found formal budgets were not prepared for five funds totaling just over $1 million -- 16 percent of total expenditures. The largest were $717,750 from the park sales tax, $112,347 for the nursing home bond debt service and $107,346 for the multipurpose building.

Taylor said all of the identified funds had been budgeted by other county officeholders, or in the case of the nursing home by its board of trustees, and that all of the money in those funds was accounted for.

Overall for 1998, the county started the year with $2.1 million cash on hand, took in $6.1 million, spent $6.3 million and ended the year with $1.9 million cash on hand.

For 1997, the county started with $2.3 million, took in $6.7 million and spent $6.9 million.

Auditors also noted that the county did not provide information required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board related to Year 2000 computer compliance. Because of that, the report said, "we do not provide assurance that the county will be successful in whole or in part, or that parties with which the county does business are or will become Year 2000 compliant."The state auditor conducts financial and compliance audits every two years in counties, such as Perry, that do not have a county auditor.