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COMMISSIONERS' COURT AGENDA REQUEST
MADE BY: Jeannie Hargis
MEETING DATE: April 27, 2009
OFFICE: Auditor's Office
TIME PREFERRED: None
SUBJECT: Consider, Discuss and Take Appropriate Action on the Annual Audit of
Chapter 19 Voter Registrar Funds for the period October 1, 2007 through February 28,
2009.
EXECUTIVE SESSION REQUESTED: (PLEASE STATE REASON)
NAME OF PERSON ADDRESSING THE COURT: Jeannie Hargis
ESTIMATED LENGTH OF PRESENTATION: 5 Minutes
IF PERSONNEL MATTER -NAME OF EMPLOYEE:
Time for submitting this request for Court to assure that the matter is posted in
accordance with Title 5, Chapter~551 and 552, Government Code, is as follows:
Meeting scheduled for Mondays: 5:00 PM previous Tuesday
THIS REQUEST RECEIVED BY:
THIS RQUEST RECEIVED ON: @ .M.
All Agenda Requests will be screened by the County Judge's Office to determine if adequate
information has been prepared for the Court's formal consideration and action at time of Court
Meetings. Your cooperation will be appreciated and contribute towards your request being
addressed at the earliest opportunity. See Agenda Request Rules Adopted by Commissioners'
Court.
,~~CE OF~Zi
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Paula J. Hargis
KERB COUNTY AUDITOR
700 Main, Room 103, Kerrville, Texas 78028
Tel: (830) 742-2237 Fax: (830) 792-2238
E-mail: jhargis@co.kerr.tx.us Website: www.co.kerr.tx.us
Apri121, 2009
The Honorable Diane Bolin
Tax Assessor/Collector
.Kerr County
700 Main Street
Kerrville, Texas 78028
Re: Annual review of Chapter 19 Voter Registrar Funds for the periods October 1, 2007
through February 28, 2009
BACKGROUND
Chapter 19, Financing Voter Registration are state funds disbursed to defray expenses of
the registrar's office in connection with voter registration.
Each registrar is entitled to receive the summing of the following amounts:
1. 25 cents multiplied by the number of initial registrations certified under Section
19.001 (a) (I);
2. 40 cents multiplied by the number of canceled registrations certified under
Section 19.002 (a) (2);
3. 40 cents multiplied by the number of updated registrations under Section 19.001
(a) (3); and
4. in each even number year, 40 cents multiplied by the difference between the
number of registered voters and the number of initial registrations certified for the
two previous voting years.
On June 1 of each year, the Comptroller of Public Accounts shall issue warrants pursuant
to vouchers submitted by the registrar and approved by the Secretary of State in amounts
that in aggregate do not exceed the registrar's entitlement. Under Section 19.0025,
Electronic Administration of Vouchers and Warrants, the Secretary of State shall
establish and maintain an online system for administering vouchers submitted and
warrants issued under Section 19.002. A registrar must electronically submit a voucher
to the Secretary of State using the online electronic system maintained by the Secretary.
The online electronic system shall provide for the direct deposit of a disbursement made
under this chapter in a registrar's account.
The Honorable Diane Bolin
April 21, 2009
Page 2
State funds disbursed under this chapter are not and may not be treated as fees of office.
The commissioner's court may not consider the availability of state funds under this
chapter in adopting the county budget for the office of the voter registrar. The funds
administered by or under the direction of the Comptroller's OfFce and the Secretary of
State. The statutory authority governing these fiznds is Chapter 19 of the Election Code.
SCOPE
We adopted the following objectives concerning the management of the Chapter 19
Funds to provide assurance that the Tax Assessor/Collector and her designees:
1. Comply with. state law,
2. Properly account for and spend the Chapter 19 Funds,
3. Protect the Tax Assessor/Collector's Account, and
4. Protect the County's General Fund, where applicable.
We designed the following procedures to meet the objectives of our review:
• Reviewed statues, department policies & procedures, and reports.
• Documented and reviewed the management and the organization structure.
• Reviewed the expenditures for compliance and statues.
• Reviewed the voucher and warrant requests for compliance and statues.
• Documented and reviewed procedures for potential internal control weaknesses
• Reviewed and tested deposit procedures to ensure that the Chapter 19 Fund
properly disposes and records all monies collected
• Tested the integrity of the bank statement balances.
• Conducted a physical inventory of all selected items to ensure that the Chapter 19
Fund was properly recorded and assets protected.
RESULTS
Compliance with Statues:
Our review showed that the vouchers submitted to the Secretary of State complied with
the statutes of Chapter 19. The staff was very cooperative and well trained in the rules
regarding the statutes.
Banking and Internal Control:
• Cash is subject to transfer to the Tax Assessor Collector's Account to reimburse
for voter registrar expenses. The funds must first be expended and paid for by
the Tax Assessor Collector before a voucher can be requested for reimbursement.
The Honorable Diane Boffin
April 21, 2009
Page 3
• The Tax Assessor Collector approves all reimbursements and the vouchers are
requested by the Deputy Voter Registrar.
• A $10.00 balance is kept in the bank account at all times.
• The bank accounts were not being balanced on a monthly basis.
• Documentation was provided, but a better system of record keeping needs to be
addressed.
• A transfer confirmation sheet from the Chapter 19 Fund to the Tax Assessor
Collector is provided; however, a copy of the Tax Assessor Collector Bank
Statement showing the actual transfer would provide additional risk assurance.
PRIMARY .RECOMMENDATION
We found that these funds are being distributed properly in accordance with the statues.
The staffwas extremely cooperative and helpful in the course of this review. They were
able to provide all the required documentation in an efficient and timely manner. We are
very appreciative of their time and assistance with this review. We only have one
suggestion for next year's annual review. We would like to see the bank statements
signed and balanced on a monthly basis with the documentation as an attachment for the
deposits and transfers shown on each monthly bank statement. We suggest using a
binder to keep the bank statements and documentation filed on a monthly basis.
Paula J. Hargis
Kerr County Auditor
Cc: The Honorable Karl Prohl, Judge 198 District Court
The Honorable Keith Williams, Judge 216 District Court
The Honorable Pat Tinley, County Judge Kerr County
The Honorable Buster Baldwin, Kerr County Commissioner, Precinct
The Honorable Bill Williams, Kerr County Commissioner, Precinct 2
The Honorable Jonathan Letz, Ken County Commissioner, Precinct 3
The Honorable Bruce Oehler, Kerr County Commissioner, Precinct 4
The Honorable Rex Emerson, Kerr County Attorney