Sheriff’s Fee Account Audit

Voice Staff Report

Kentucky State Auditor Mike Harmon released the audit of the 2020 financial statement of McCreary County Sheriff Randy Waters. Annual audits of the accounts of each county sheriff is required by state law. In compliance with this law, the auditor issued two sheriff’s reports each year: one reporting on the audit of the sheriff’s tax account and the other reporting on the audit of the fee account used to operate the office.

The responsibilities of the sheriff 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. The state audit found the sheriff’s financial statement was fairly presented in conformity with the regulatory basis of accounting. 

The audit contained a comment concerning the lack of adequate segregation of duties and reported this is a condition as a result of a limited budget, which restricts the number of employees the sheriff can hire or delegate duties to.