A state audit has found a handful of discrepancies in the Hickman County Sheriff’s office, including unauthorized purchases and an overspent budget.
Kentucky State Auditor Mike Harmon’s report alleges Sheriff Mark Green’s office spent $5,707 of taxpayer money on purchases categorized as questionable or disallowed from the 2014 budget and drug fund.
The disallowed disbursements total at $2,456 and include a cable subscription at the sheriff’s office, tires and oil changes on Green’s personal vehicle and an internet connection at his home. In his response, the sheriff says those purchases were work-related.
“The cable that was put on in the office was the cheapest package we could get ad [sic] was only used to watch training videos and stations involving weather, which was The Weather Station and News Ch. 6,” Green’s statement read.
Harmon’s audit also found $2,577 in line items designated as questionable, or purchases that can’t be definitively proven necessary, properly documented or beneficial to the public. The sheriff allegedly paid $2,412 in cell phone service fees for devices that Harmon’s office couldn’t determine were for employee or official use.
The remaining $165 went to food bought without itemized receipts.
Lastly, a total of $674 from the Hickman County Sheriff’s Office Drug Fund was spent on unauthorized items including undocumented food, uniforms and a $49 disbursement to the Zombie Eradication Response Team.
The remaining complaints are outlined below:
- Green failed to maintain adequate accounting records for the drug fund
- Sheriff's deputies did not maintain proper documentation of hours worked
- The Sheriff's Office lacks adequate segregation of duties
- Green signed blank checks prior to purchases
- Green had weak controls over his signature stamp
- Green had weak internal controls over office assets
Green was cited last year in another audit that found additional mishandled spending. At the time, he repaid the Hickman County Fiscal Court more than $5,000.
