Sheriff, County Clerk Financial Reports Released
Sheriff’s Office Repays ‘Accidental’ Credit Card Charge
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Robert Moore
Herald Staff
rmoore@harrodsburgherald.com
State Auditor Mike Harmon has released the 2022 finance reports for the offices of Mercer County Sheriff Ernie Kelty and Mercer County Clerk Chris Horn. State law requires annual audits of county sheriffs and clerks, however Kelty and Horn meet the criteria for reporting through agreed-upon procedures, which reduce audit costs.
The sheriff’s responsibilities include collecting property taxes, providing law enforcement and performing services for the county fiscal court and courts of justice. The sheriff’s office is funded through statutory commissions and fees collected in conjunction with these duties.
Auditors performed the procedures on receipts and disbursements, excess fees, record-keeper, and leases, contracts, and liabilities for the period Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2022. The report identified the following exceptions:
• The sheriff performed monthly bank reconciliations on all accounts except the payroll account. The Dec. 31, 2022, bank reconciliations were performed again and were accurate except for the payroll account.
• The selected disbursements agreed to paid invoices or other supporting documentation and cancelled checks. Disbursements were for official business. Credit card disbursements were not all for official business. $291 in credit card purchases had no receipt or were for a personal purchase or were for service fees. State advancement was repaid.
• The sheriff’s agreements and contract payments did agree to actual payments and the services received were appropriate, for official business, and properly authorized. Liabilities requiring disclosure were not disclosed properly on the fourth quarter financial statement.
Reached for comment, Kelty said the $291 in credit card purchases was an “accident.”
“We got it fixed,” said the sheriff, noting the amount was repaid. “We’ll make sure it won’t happen again.”
Total receipts for the period were $1,211,592, with disbursements of $1,155,168 and excess fees of $56,425 paid to the fiscal court, according to the report.
“We do the best we can,” Kelty said. “That’s why we have audits.”
He said his staff works well with the auditors and they will work to correct any issues the report has identified.
Financial reporting for the Mercer County Clerk for the period Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2022. Total receipts were $7,278,913$ while total disbursements were $6,971,309, with excess fees of $307,022 paid to the fiscal court. The auditor noted the following exception:
• Excess fees due to the fiscal court were recalculated and there are $582 additional excess fees due to the fiscal court.
County Clerk Chris Horn had not comment on the report, but praised the job done by his staff.
“I’m very thankful to have them working for me,” Horn said.
To view the agreed-upon procedures report for the sheriff’s office click this link: auditor.ky.gov.
To view the agreed-upon procedures report for the clerk’s office click this link: auditor.ky.gov.
