Audit reveals problems at Macon-Bibb Municipal Court

Macon-Bibb County Municipal Court, which has dealt with instances of financial problems dating back to the 1990s, is now facing scrutiny again after a recent audit.

An internal audit finalized in December cited several "significant control deficiencies" stemming from a lack of oversight by management of the court's operations. County officials say they're taking measures to ensure the recommendations in the audit are met, although some commissioners say they have problems with the length of time it took to discover the issues.

The audit said Municipal Court Clerk Terry Bizzell was assigning some tasks to other employees that he should have been performing himself, including handling expense reports. Bizzell, who had been in the position of clerk since April 2014, resigned Dec. 9, 2015.

The internal audit found that Bizzell failed to continue some of the needed improvements to court operations that were recommended by auditors in 2013. Those issues were addressed at the time, but the court allowed the problems to resurface.

Efforts to reach Bizzell for comment were unsuccessful.

Commissioner Larry Schlesinger said he was bothered by the fact that commissioners were not alerted more quickly about the issues cited in the report. He questioned why County Manager Dale Walker didn't recognize the court's problems that persisted for almost a year and a half.

Schlesinger said his curiosity was piqued when Assistant County Manager Charles Coney sent a Dec. 9 email to commissioners that announced Coney was taking over "operational leadership" of Municipal Court. Schlesinger later asked Commissioner Gary Bechtel, chairman of the commission's Operations and Finance Committee, to inquire about the state of the court with the county manager.

"It's an awfully long time for these irregularities to be going on without (Walker) either realizing it or doing anything to correct the problem prior to (December)," Schlesinger said.

Commissioner Elaine Lucas said she was aware of an audit taking place but would have preferred if commissioners had been better kept "in the loop" about the court's problems.

Walker, however, said the audit that was completed in December 2015 was necessary to see if proper procedures were being followed after Macon and Bibb County consolidated in January 2014. Commissioners were informed a few weeks after the audit was finalized, he said.

"A review of the department prior to consolidation showed that processes were in place, and we conducted this audit to check and see the full scope of operations and whether the processes were being followed," Walker said.

AUDIT CITES SERIES OF PROBLEMS

In the late 1990s, Macon Municipal Court faced troubles as millions of dollars worth of fines went uncollected, and court officials at the time placed some of the blame on the court's software. The problems in the court's operations were so severe in 1997 that an auditing firm said the problems prevented them from completing a written report.

The audit examined the court from July 2014 through October 2015.

The management problems mentioned in this latest audit include the court clerk not reviewing specific reports detailing the court's daily activities.

From July 2014 to September 2014, that daily review was handled by a court aide, which was an "improper segregation of duties," the audit said.

The timing of when the financial reports were submitted to the Finance Department also was a problem, the audit found, as was Bizzell passing that responsibility onto others.

It took the court an average of seven days to send the Finance Department about $480,000 in court collections between January 2015 through last October, according to the audit. As they came in, those collections should have been sent no later than the following day, the audit said.

In addition to the problems of a court aide being assigned some of Bizzell's work, he also used another employee to handle other aspects of his job, the audit found.

For a year, Bizzell tasked a backlog specialist with verifying some transaction reports, but Bizzell should have done that work himself, the audit noted.

The audit also said court cases were not reviewed to determine their accuracy and that there was a lack of understanding by Municipal Court's management of the court's software system.

"In 2016, the court will fully implement a new operating system that is critical to the court's daily operations," County Internal Auditor Stephanie Jones wrote in the audit. "It's imperative that the (court clerk) have extensive knowledge of the court's operating system; as well as a willingness to adhere to ... process and procedures."

AUDIT REPORT REVEALS 'HEALTHY' MACON FINANCES

Although the internal audit pointed out problems with Municipal Court, news was much rosier for the overall financial health of the county.

Macon-Bibb County received high praise Jan. 12 during an audit report given by Macon accounting firm Mauldin & Jenkins.

The general fund is healthy with the county spending about $12.5 million per month and having three months worth of reserves, said accountant Miller Edwards with Mauldin & Jenkins.

The county has a roughly $38 million cash balance in the general fund.

"I don't have the pleasure of telling people that often," Edwards said.

Also, the county's pension plans are well funded, including a Macon fire and police pension that's funded at 107 percent, he said.

Information from the Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitternote>.

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Audit reveals problems at Macon-Bibb Municipal Court ."