Letter To Editor: Antelope County Sheriff Clarifies Audit Report

Dear Editor,
This letter is to clarify misleading information in a recent article in the Neligh News & Leader regarding an audit that included the Antelope County Sheriff’s Department. It’s important you not only know how your tax dollars are spent, but also that you receive all of the facts.

​First of all, the term “critical” was used in the headline of the article about the report. Deann Haeffer, assistant deputy auditor for the state of Nebraska, confirmed to me that never has the term “critical” been used with the county’s audit. The term “critical” was a misleading description.  Secondly, please note the article referenced five years of audits. While I do not disagree with findings in the audits, the article neglected to acknowledge most of the issues were improved immediately. I wish I could say we will never have an audit error again, but that is unrealistic, though it is our goal.

Among deficiencies pointed out:
• $19 not properly claimed: We believe we have rectified this paperwork error.

• $14 petty cash spent on holiday cards: We no longer use petty cash for such purchases.

• $52 withdrawn for new checks: The expense was an automatic withdrawal that we believed had been turned in as a claim to the county. This was done immediately upon learning of the error.

• Detailed inmate balance not provided or cash on hand for June 30, 2018: The wrong forms were given to auditors. The right ones were later provided, confirming the funds were there in entirety.

• Accounts receivable of $4,211 in 2010 that had not been collected: These will be submitted for removal as noncollectable.

• Unexplained long cash of $4,049 on June 30, 2018: The auditor has been contacted, and the funds will be reallocated correctly.

• Fees not submitted to the county by Sept. 30, 2018, including social security incentive of $1,200: We believe we have rectified this paperwork error.

• Commissary account not properly reconciled and had an $8 overdraft charge: We believe we have rectified this paperwork error.

Again, our office does not deny any of these deficiencies in the five years of audits referred to and has worked diligently to correct all paperwork issues and create policies when necessary. I commend our staff for their hard work, especially our bookkeeper and office manager, for her efforts, which still includes dispatcher, 911 coordination and jailer duties on top of the paperwork.

It is disheartening our office was never contacted by the Neligh News & Leader to clarify the deficiencies or that the article did not acknowledged the errors are either fixed or in the process of being rectified. I hope this letter clarifies that your tax dollars are accounted for and there has not been a “critical report” issued with the Antelope County audits for five straight years.

We will continue to work on improvements within our office and thank you for taking the time to read our explanation of the deficiencies and the solutions.

Sincerely,
Sheriff Bob Moore

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Reminder: Letters To The Editor are not the opinion of Pitzer Digital or Antelope County News/Orchard News.