Warren County got a mixed review in a report released this month by the Missouri State Auditor’s Office. Although the county received an overall good audit rating, several elected officials were faulted for failing to follow property tax oversight requirements.

Auditors found three problems with oversight records that haven’t been provided or reviewed as required by state law.

First, Collector Julie Schaumberg did not provide what’s called an “annual settlement” in 2017, 2018, 2019 or 2020, according to the audit. The settlement is a report used by the Warren County Commission to verify what tax revenues have been collected and what payments are delinquent, and to also certify that same information to the state government.

“Such procedures are intended to establish checks and balances related to the collection of property taxes,” the audit states.

The second issue found in the audit is that the office of County Clerk Denise Stotler has not been maintaining a separate account book summarizing property tax charges, transactions, and changes. “As a results, there is an increased risk of loss, theft, or misuse of property tax monies going undetected,” the auditors said.

The third issue auditors identified is that the county clerk’s office should be checking the accuracy of the current and delinquent tax books kept by the collector’s office. Good practice and state law require someone outside the collection process to verify the accuracy of the tax books, according to the audit report.

The audit does not indicate that any financial mismanagement took place, only that proper checks have not been followed.

County response

The county officials involved in the audit report said they’ve committed to addressing the oversight issue, and have already taken steps to correct some of the problems.

“The county commission, county clerk and county collector will work together to review and verify the accuracy of all tax records,” the officials stated in a joint response to the auditor.

Presiding Commissioner Joe Gildehaus said the county clerk’s office has already installed computer software needed to perform the required accounting and verification of the tax books.

Gildehaus said the commission will also seek an outside advisor to help educate incoming commissioners about financial reporting and oversight requirements. Two new commissioners will take office in 2021.

Collector Julie Schaumberg said she is in the process of completing the missing annual settlements for the commission to review, and will provide the mandated documents each year going forward.

“Everything balances (financially) every year, every month,” Schaumberg said. “I’ve spoken with the auditors multiple times. Everything was good with the money.”

Schaumberg said the oversight documents weren’t generated because her office was “waylaid” by a multi-year lawsuit between her office and the county commission. The commission unsuccessfully sued in 2018 to force Schaumberg to waive late fees on a tax bill.

However, that lawsuit was filed in early 2018 and resolved midway through 2019, leaving the 2017 and 2020 annual settlements unaccounted for in that explanation.

The Record asked for additional information about what might have prevented the 2017 and 2020 documents from being filed. Schaumberg declined to provide further comment.

Computer security

As a separate issue, auditors also identified three county offices with inadequate computer password procedures.

The offices of the county assessor, recorder of deeds, and public administrator were not periodically changing computer passwords prior to the audit, according to the report. County officials said they will begin requiring password changes to reduce the risk of unauthorized computer access.