Howard County board wants audit

ST. PAUL, Neb. — Thanks to a windfall, the Howard County Sheriff’s Office has three new patrol vehicles that have been paid for without tax dollars.

But the sheriff is at odds with the county board over how to account for the new funds, leading the board to bring in state officials to audit the county.

The sheriff’s office was the lead agency in a February 2008 crystal meth bust on Highway 281 that resulted in the seizure of $384,020 of cash, all of which was turned over to federal authorities.

For its role in the case, the sheriff’s office was given $191,851 of the money, to be used for drug enforcement.

The office bought three new patrol vehicles, plus new rifles, body armor and video equipment for its interview room — and much of the money remains unspent, said Sheriff Harold Schenck.

Schenck said the seized money was a huge help to his department, especially in a year when he submitted a budget that was almost $13,000 less than the previous fiscal year.

“This was a lifesaver for us, and a lifesaver for the county,” Schenck said. “I don’t know if people actually realize what this did for the county and the sheriff’s department.”

What the county board of commissioners is concerned about is not the money itself, but the way the department has handled it.

Last fall, the sheriff’s office and treasurer’s office set up a new account for the money, separate from other county funds and apart from the county board’s oversight.

Commissioner Larry Seifert said he believes that lack of oversight may be illegal.

“We don’t know what’s in the account or what’s being spent or nothing,” Seifert said.

He and County Attorney Bob Sivick said state law requires money gained from seizures to be held by the county treasurer and accounted for in the budget.

Seifert said the board realizes it would need to abide by the rules governing seized money and it isn’t trying to take control over how it’s spent.

“We don’t want to spend it. We just want to run everything through the books,” Seifert said. “We want to be able to tell the public how we spent the money.”

He said the board has reached an agreement to have the county’s annual audit done by the State Auditor’s Office.

State Auditor Mike Foley confirmed that the audit is being done at the county board’s request. Foley said the audit report is due next June.

Schenck said he was directed by federal authorities to set up the separate account for the money. The money is still technically the federal government’s, and everything the county buys with it remains federal property for two years.

If the money was made part of the county budget, Schenck said, the federal government could choose to revoke the allotment.

“We don’t have a choice,” Schenck said. “It’s mandated by the federal government to do it that way.”

Schenck said federal authorities ensure accountability by auditing the account every year to confirm that it’s being used for drug enforcement.

He submitted forms for the first year’s audit in June.