COMMISSIONERS' COURT AGENDA REQUEST PLEASE FURNISH ONE ORIGINAL AND TEN (10) COPIES OF THIS REQUEST AND DOCUMENTS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE COURT MADE BY: Tess Mabry MEETING DATE: 8/10/2009 OFFICE: Auditor TIME PREFERRED: None SUBJECT: Presentation of Audit Report of the Office of Court Compliance EXECUTIVE SESSION REQUESTED: (PLEASE STATE REASON) NAME OF'PERSON ADDRESSING THE COURT: Tess Mabry ESTIMATED LENGTH OF PRESENTATION: 2 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: THIS REQUEST RECEIVED BY; THIS REQUEST RECEIVED ON: 5:00 PM previous Tuesday @ .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. REPORT Monday, August 10, 2009 To: Jeannie Hargis, Kerr County Auditor From: Theressa "Tess" Mabry, Kerr County First Assistant Auditor Subject: Audit Report of the Kerr County Department of Court Compliance Background: The Kerr County Court Compliance Department was created to assist the Court Clerks in the collection of court costs and fines assessed in felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions. The Department assists the Kerr County Court at Law, 216th Judicial District, Kerr County Juvenile Court, all four Justice of the Peace courts and assists local law enforcement agencies with locating defendants with outstanding criminal warrants and suspects in criminal incidents. All departments of Kerr County government that are involved in the criminal justice system receive help in the locating of defendants owing outstanding fines and fees Since January 2000 the department has assisted the Kerr County courts in collecting over $3 million in fines,. fees and, in some cases, restitution. This process also holds criminals responsible for crimes committed by enforcing the judgments handed down by the courts. This department is accountable to the Kerr County Commissioners Court. This department does not collect the money itself, but helps those persons who must pay to work out a payment plan for the costs they owe the county. The money is paid to the Clerk of the Courtin which the judgment is made. It is the goal of the compliance department to efficiently enforce the courts orders adjudged against defendants. Changes to Risk Assessment: Risk is assessed at a low level, No cash is taken by Court Compliance employees which minimizes risk. The only noted risk involves the relative newness of the department as well as the concept of Court Compliance itself. Objectives: Determine: • Internal controls are in place to ensure Court Compliance maintains an accurate accounting of payment plans made by defendants; • And verify no cash collections made to Court Compliance; Scope: The scope of the audit includes: • Internal Controls and reporting with regard to collections For the period 10/1/2007 to present. Program and Fieldwork: The audit program will be prepared by Theressa Mabry who is also assigned to fieldwork. The deadline for the completion of the audit is 7/31/2009 Sampling: A judgment sample was used to select and trace cases through to collections. Procedures: • Determined the responsibilities of the Department of Court Compliance by reviewing applicable statutes and association (GCAT) literature; • Reviewed Court Compliance's budget, fees and fines; • Tested sample of cases for completeness, accuracy and verifiability with regard to collections; • Verified security of assets; • Interviewed employees; • Verified Inventory; • Observed protocols and procedures; • Verified compliance spreadsheet with regard to collections; and • Administered an Internal Control Questionnaire. Findings: The Office of Court Compliance is efficient with minimal deficiencies. The employees are knowledgeable and continually seek to improve operations. Recommendations: Issue 1: The Odyssey Software package is not adequate for the needs of the Court Compliance Department. The Odyssey software is unable to allow the court collections department to tailor special arrangements with individuals, causing payments made to often reflect past due amounts where none exist. The software is set up to accept payments, but any special circumstances must be noted on a separate excel spreadsheet created for that purpose so that individuals don't receive erroneous late payment and warrant notifications. Because the software won't reflect the correct information, duplication of work and loss of valuable, proactive collections time results and false notifications still occur due to the manual entry. • Recommendation: A different software package should be purchased to better meet the needs of the Department. Court Compliance has agreed and has found a package that will meet their needs as well as the needs of the fee offices themselves. Issue 2: No policies and procedures manual is in place for the Court Compliance Department. To maintain adequate internal controls, a policies and procedures manual outlines expectations and policies to control the flow of assets and information, manage risk, as well to manage the expectations of all stakeholders involved. • Recommendation: A policies and procedures manual should be developed with all stakeholder parties involved. The Department, along with Commissioner Baldwin and other stakeholders, is in the preliminary stages of creation of such a document. Issue 3: Possible future population growth of Kerr County and additional requirements of the Office of Court Compliance The population of Kerr County, at some time in the near future, will reach 50,000, creating new reporting requirements with the Office of Court Administration for the State of Texas. • Recommendation: As suggested by the Director of Court Compliance, the Office of Court Compliance will begin implementation of reporting policies in proactive anticipation of the increased population benchmark.