Regularly scheduled audit of Andrew County officially underway according to Auditor Fitzpatrick

People from around the world once traveled to Savannah, Missouri to seek medical treatment at the Nichols' Sanatorium, and now Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick is prescribing a healthy dose of transparency for governmental operations in Andrew County. Fitzpatrick announced this week that his office launched a regularly scheduled performance audit of the county that began during an entrance meeting with county officials on Monday, March 16.

"While the county's namesake, Andrew Jackson Davis, never saw Savannah or any part of Andrew County, our auditors will take a close look at the county's various government offices with the goal of ensuring they are operating transparently and are accountable to taxpayers," said Auditor Fitzpatrick. "We will work to give taxpayers a clearer picture of how their government is performing and provide county officials with recommendations to improve areas where we identify deficiencies."

The Missouri State Auditor's Office last conducted a performance audit of Andrew County in 2018. The audit provided the county with a "good" rating but also revealed a miscalculation in property tax collections and brought forward concerns about the county's financial condition. The report found errors in property tax levy calculations which resulted in $270,217 in excess collections from 2014-2017. County officials then developed a four-year plan to correct the error. The report also found the county's Law Enforcement Fund operated at a deficit and officials took out a series of loans for new Sheriff's Office vehicles. 

Individuals may provide information confidentially for consideration during the audit of Andrew County to the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at 800-347-8597, by email at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov, or by visiting www.auditor.mo.gov/hotline.