At the invitation of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, State Auditor Mike Foley’s office conducted the annual audit of Johnson County for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009. The audit team was led by Assistant Deputy Auditor Deann Haeffner who presented the report to the Johnson County Board at its public meeting on December 15th 2009.

The audit report contains a number of findings regarding deficiencies in County fiscal operations. The most serious of these is the disclosure that more than $31,000 (almost exclusively in cash) is missing from funds under the direct control of the County Sheriff. The actual losses may be larger but could not be confirmed due to the inadequacy of the Sheriff’s records.

The audit results have been shared with the Nebraska State Patrol.

The auditors who conducted the work documented that the cash was received in the Sheriff’s office, receipted in, and placed under his control. However, there are no corresponding bank records showing the receipts going into the County bank accounts.

The audit does not confirm that the missing funds were stolen but it does raise serious questions about the handling of public funds by the County Sheriff. The Sheriff provided no reasonable explanation for the missing funds.