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Treasurer's office requests training, urges policy on NSF/stop-payment fees and independent audit
Summary
County treasurer's office staff described training needs, requested a policy to recover bank NSF and stop-payment fees from payors, and asked for an independent audit to avoid perceived conflicts of interest.
Gabby, a member of the county treasurer's office staff, asked commissioners for additional training on daily balancing, bank reconciliations and the distribution process, and raised concerns about public accusations of missing funds. She said those accusations hurt staff morale and public trust.
Gabby urged the commission to adopt a policy to recover bank fees when taxpayers present nonsufficient-fund (NSF) checks or place stop payments, saying the county currently absorbs bank charges (noted as $3 on the bank statement) and that correcting the accounting after an NSF is time-consuming. "I don't believe we should be eating that," she said, adding she would prefer recovering at least the bank fee and possibly an administrative surcharge to offset staff time.
She also asked the commission to consider an independent auditor for reviews of prior department finances to avoid perceived conflicts of interest with the normal auditor.
Commissioners responded supportively on training and signaled they would help provide resources. The commission directed staff to draft a resolution on assessing NSF/stop-payment fees for consideration at a future meeting and to identify training options for reconciliation and daily balancing work.
Ending: The commission asked the treasurer's office and clerk to coordinate on a resolution draft and to return the proposal for action at an upcoming meeting.
