(Des Moines, Iowa) – Auditor of State Rob Sand has released an audit report on Pottawattamie County, Iowa:

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:
The County’s revenues totaled $95,971,855 for the year ended June 30, 2022, a 3.7% increase over the prior year. Expenses for County operations for the year ended June 30, 2022 totaled $81,725,336, a 3.9% increase over the prior year. The increase in revenue is due primarily to receipts received from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program due to the floods of 2019. These programs also primarily accounted for the increase in disbursements.

AUDIT FINDING:
Sand reported six findings related to the receipt and expenditure of taxpayer funds. The findings address issues such as errors in reporting capital assets, receipts and transfers, lack of independent review of the coding of receipts received outside of the treasurer’s office as well as transfers. There were also findings related to the preparation and review of bank reconciliations for the sheriff’s office jail account and a lack of independent review of bank reconciliations for the County Recorder.

Also, the budget was exceeded for the mental health function, noncompliance with Chapter 554D.114 of the Code of Iowa pertaining to retaining cancelled checks and paid lunch periods for certain employees in the Sheriff’s Office in violation of the bargaining agreement and County personnel manual. Sand provided the County with recommendations to address each of these findings.

Two of the six findings discussed above are repeated from the prior year. The County Board of Supervisors and other County officials have a fiduciary responsibility to provide oversight of the County’s operations and financial transactions. Oversight is typically defined as the “watchful and responsible care” a governing body exercises in its fiduciary capacity.

A copy of the audit report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s website at Audit Reports – Auditor of State.