Antelope County's annual audit report was released by the Nebraska auditor of public accounts office in August with fewer issues of concern to auditors than found in the previous audit of county financials.

The single countywide issue prompted repeated advice for segregation of duties in offices.

The NPA recommended officials weigh the cost to hire additional personnel against the benefit of segregating duties.

County Attorney Joe Abler responded, "As noted and discussed during the previous audits, my office is very small and employs only one full-time clerical employee and one part-time clerical employee, so it is very difficult to implement...on a small and limited budget."

Abler also responded to all issues raised by auditors, specific to his office.

Three of the four findings were similar to those noted last year according to the auditors, including: Monthly reconciliations between bank balances and office records were not completed, resulting in an unknown short of $75, and a known short of $56 due to a fee assessed for not cashing money orders in a timely manner; interest earned on petty cash account was not remitted to the county treasurer; and a petty cash claim was not claimed to the county board within 90 days.

Abler said his staff had previously reconciled bank accounts every month, but not sufficient for the auditor's requirements. An employee was educated in proper reconciliation procedures and was instructed by auditors how to note shortages in the account register and make necessary adjustments to balance the trust account register. He said a plan is in place for immediate deposit of money orders to avoid future fees. The petty cash account was switched to a non-interest checking account and a similar issue found last year with the trust account was corrected by arranging for interest to be deposited directly to the county General Fund. Abler said the missed claim has since been filed with the county clerk.

Auditors also found six outstanding checks, issued between 2009 and 2015, totaling $3,242, qualified as abandoned property that is required to be remitted to the state treasurer. Abler agreed with the finding and said forms were filed with the secretary of state and a $3,214.66 check issued to the state.

The county sheriff's accounts also had three issues that had been noted on previous audits, along with two new deficiencies discovered by auditors. Last year more than a dozen issues were reported.

Repeat issues regarding the sheriff's accounts, according to the letter, include: Unexplained cash long of $1,586 in the fee account; accounts receivable, totaling $3,051, ($4,211 reported last year) dating back to 2010 that remained uncollected; and the bank account holding commissary funds was not properly reconciled each month, resulting in an unexplained cash long of $67.

The auditor recommended office assets (cash, reconciled bank balances and accounts receivable) agree with office liabilities (fees, trust accounts and accounts payable) and any variances be resolved timely; adequate follow-up procedures to resolve balances; and documenting inmate balances and other funds.

Moore responded to each concern. He indicated a check was written to the treasurer for the $1,586 overage in the fee account and was working to have only one staff member handle paper service. He said a claim will be filed for Antelope County fees due and the county commissioners will be asked to consider writing off the remaining outstanding accounts receivable balances. The $67 long in the commissary account will be turned over to the county treasurer if it remains undesignated Dec. 1.

Two additional findings were noted regarding petty cash procedures, including: Expenses totaling $39 had not been filed with the county clerk within 90 days, including $20.25 that had not yet been filed; and the account was not reconciled to the authorized amount during the fiscal year, resulting in an unexplained cash short of $9.

Moore addressed those findings as well. He said the account will be reconciled in a timely manner; a $20.25 claim was filed with the county clerk for the December purchase of checks; and the $9 shortage was fixed.

Deann Haeffner, assistant deputy auditor, said the report was considered "critical in nature," due to inclusion of only areas needing improvement and no observation was given regarding any strong features.