Fair, Integrated Public Health pointed out

ADAMS COUNTY - The state auditor's office recommended improvements to how Adams County handles cash.

A state auditor found problems with how the money was handled for the Adams County Fair, according to a management letter. It stated the money needed to be counted before it was transferred, volunteers didn't document all of the tickets sold.

Adams County Commissioner Rudy Plager said these problems were addressed this year with the addition of cash registers.

"The accounting is being done very well," he said. "They got cash registers (this year) that accounted for the money … We're making some big changes (with the fair)."

The other issue involved the county's Integrated Health Care Services, which includes community counseling, public health and developmental disabilities. The letter stated receipts were used out of sequence, the type of payment was missing on some receipts and 19 of the 29 deposits sampled weren't deposited on time.

Developmental Disabilities operates two thrift stores. Community counseling collects fees for mental health and chemical dependency services and public health collects fees for immunization, medication and environmental health services.

Plager said he was far less concerned about these issues and they combined the administration of the three departments during the year, which increases the efficiency of the departments.

"It provides better management that they just couldn't afford," he said.

The state auditor's office examined county records between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2007.

They looked at 24 areas including payroll, ethics and finances in the courts, Adams County Sheriff's Office, fair, assessor's, auditor's and treasurer's offices.

They also examined how the county handled money from the federal government.

"While this item is not significant enough at this time to include in our reports, we believe our recommendations will assist you in improving the county's internal control process," the letter stated. "We will review the status of these comments during our next audit."