Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Municipal court books show account problems

Overall, the audit report for the City of Prescott was all right, showing the city to be in good shape financially.

This is what auditors told the Prescott City Council at its regular monthly meeting Monday, Aug. 20.

However, while the audit was "clean," there were problems, primarily in the form of bad debts on the utility end.

Ronnie Rodgers said most of this is because of the old hospital, adding there have been some improvements otherwise on the bad debt problem.

But, he said, one-third of the accounts receivable are two or more months past due. The city's policy, he added, is to disconnect service after a bill is 60-days past due.

In some instances, he said, no payments have been made at all on past due accounts.

In spite of this, the electric portion of the city's utilities is the only one operating the black, as the operating income for this department was $686,000.

The water department lost $82,000, while the sewer department lost $262,000 in 1999, Rodgers said.

"The electric department is carrying the utility system," he said. "You may need to consider a rate increase on water and sewer and watch utility expenditures."

Randy Turner, another of the auditors, talked about problems within the municipal court books.

He said there are three divisions within the municipal court system  the court itself, the city and the county. Turner was only concerned with the city's part.

"We still have issues," he said, "and had problems in the past year.

Turner said there were instances when bank accounts were not reconciled and deposits were made late  as much as two months in some cases.

Additionally, he said, not all portions of traffic tickets are being accounted for when citations are issued.

Another problem, he said, is there is money in the system, but no one knows who it belongs to.

"We're having the same problems we've had in year's past," Turner said. "It wouldn't take much to eliminate all of the deficiencies. Basic controls aren't being followed."

Municipal Judge Gene Hale said things are better than they were, and promised to look into the current situation, bringing answers back to the council.

"There's no excuse for deposits laying around two months," he said.

Turner said if the controls aren't followed, he doesn't know what will happen, but following procedure will cut down on problems.

He said bank accounts weren't reconciled for an entire year, and there is no way to know if the department had any money or not, or how much money was in the account.

In July, 1999, he said, $2,000 in small claims was collected, but no deposit was made until September. This meant claims weren't being paid.

Councilman Karen Ward asked Hale for a report on the deficiencies in the Municipal Clerk's Office on a monthly basis.

Turner said there are things Hale is supposed to be getting every month, but isn't. "Most of the problems could be solved with a little effort."

Some accounts, Turner said, haven't been reconciled for 10 years.

Municipal Clerk Michelle Glass said the department hasn't had the civil and small claims software for its computer system but will have by the end of the year.

Those working in the office have been doing the work by hand in the interim, which takes time, she said.

"There are no excuses for the shortfalls," she said.

Turner asked how much of the work is from the city and how much comes from the county.

Glass said 60-75 percent is from the county.

"Municipal court," he said, "is a hybrid. The city is responsible for working with the county. I didn't get into as much depth with the county, but I don't think it has these problems. The legislative audit didn't show it."