Published: October 30, 2009 08:50 am      

Knox sheriff’s office took in $836,183 in 2008

By Carl Keith Greene / Staff Writer

State auditor Crit Luallen gave Knox Sheriff John Pickard high marks in his 2008 audit.

The audit, released this week, said Pickard’s financial status and record keeping “presents fairly the revenues, expenditures and excess fees” of the sheriff’s office “in conformity with the regulatory basis of accounting.”

The only comment made was regarding what Luallen called a lack of adequate segregation of duties.

That lack, the report says, happens when a single person controls both expenditures and deposits.

“The report recognizes that due to the diversity of operations, small size and budget restrictions, the sheriff has limited options for establishing a segregation of duties,” the report states.

The audit indicates total income for the sheriff’s office of $836,183 and total expenditures of $561,229.

Incoming money included $25,024 from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation, $38,917 from state fees for services, and $1,576 from the Circuit Clerk in fines and fees and court ordered fees collected.

Some $100,500 came from the fiscal court. Delinquent taxes totalled $7,512 and the commission on taxes collected totalled $470,429.

The sheriff collected $122,814 in fees for services and $67,623 in other income from tax penalty fees, sheriff’s fees and advertising and refunds. Interest earned was $1,788.

Money spent included $416,675 for personnel services. Of that, $283,085 went as salaries for deputies.

Contracted services totalled $35,165. That money was spent on advertising, vehicle maintenance, auditing expenses and county settlement.

Materials and supplies including office supplies and uniforms totalled $222,357 and gasoline for the year cost $55,197.

Other charges including telephone service, dues, postage, bonds, training and miscellaneous costs and feeding a jury totalled $27,424.

And capital outlay for office equipment totalled $4,411.

Excess fees due the county and paid to the county for 2008 were $186,843.