The Warrenton Municipal Court received a “good” rating for its overall performance according to an audit released this week by Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich.The routine audit involved the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012, and was unrelated to a petition audit that is still in progress.The costs of the audit were paid by the Missouri Auditor’s Office, according to Spence Jackson, a spokesman for the Missouri Auditor’s Office.The objectives of the audit were to evaluate the municipal court’s internal controls over significant functions and its compliance with certain legal provisions.The audit employs a system that includes the potential ratings of excellent, good, fair and poor. The report defines the “good” rating this way: The audit results indicate this entity is well managed.The report contains few findings, and the entity has indicated most or all recommendations have already been, or will be, implemented.In addition, if applicable, many of the prior recommendations have been implemented.According to the report, in the year audited, 4,945 cases were filed in the municipal court which generated $650,683 in revenue. Warrenton City Attorney Chris Graville, who helped establish the court in 2009 and who also serves as prosecutor for the court, said he was “very pleased” with the audit findings.“Receiving an overall performance rating of ‘good’ reflects the hard work that we have put into assuring that our court is run effectively, fairly and ethically,” Graville told The Record. “We started this municipal court only a couple of years ago from scratch. It should be absolutely affirming to the citizens who petitioned for this audit that we are operating this court at a standard that meets their expectations."The audit identified areas of improvement or weakness in the court, including:A total of $1,977 in court receipts were not accurately accounted for or properly distributed.In addition, instead of increasing the court costs assessed to include a $2 domestic violence fee, the court clerk distributed $2 of the fine amount collected to a local domestic violence shelter, the audit states.Between July 2011 and September 2012, fines paid to the city were reduced by $6,426.The ability of the court clerk to amend tickets without evidence of approval by the prosecuting attorney also is a significant control weakness and increases the likelihood of tickets being handled improperly and risk of loss, theft or misuse of monies going undetected, auditors noted in the final report.The audit indicated that the city has taken steps to address all of the areas that required improvement.To view the complete report, Citizens Summary and audit rating scale, visit:www.auditor.mo.gov/Press/2013-052.pdf.City of Warrenton Logo Picture File