EPHRATA - State auditors stated two issues with sheriff's and clerk's offices weren't corrected after a previous audit.

Sheriff Tom Jones is working to correct the issues and Clerk Kim Allen stated the concern raised in a management letter from the state auditor's office was dealt with last year.

The Washington State Auditor's Office issued the management letter for the 2010 audit.

The auditors issued a management letter as part of the 2009 audit pointing out issues with how quickly the sheriff's deputies turn citations in at Grant County District Court, and who reviews mail at the clerk's office.

Auditors stated state law requires deputies to file citations within 48 hours of the time they are issued, according to the letter.

"During the current audit, we reviewed 20 randomly selected citations from 2011 to determine if the county had responded to our concerns," according to the letter. "We found the sheriff's office had filed only nine of the 20 within the required time frame."

If the citations aren't submitted in a timely manner, it could lead to them being dismissed, resulting in lost revenue for the county, according to the letter.

Jones wasn't aware of the issue until the management letter, he stated. The laws auditors cited didn't indicate a time frame for submitting tickets.

"Therefore, we were not aware such a time for submittal requirement existed," he stated. "The Grant County Sheriff's Office appreciates the state auditor's office's reviews to make sure our actions and business activities are correct. We strive to comply with all applicable state laws, and are proud of our record of compliance."

Deputies normally submit their tickets as part of their daily routine, he stated. Most deputies have a computer system for submitting tickets in their patrol cars. The remaining patrol cars will have the Statewide Electronic Collision and Ticket Online Records (SECTOR) system installed in 2012.

"Although all tickets were processed, what we suspect is that the tickets not issued though a SECTOR system may not have been processed as rapidly as those tickets issued through SECTOR," he stated.

In the clerk's office, the auditors noted only one employee opens incoming mail, and has access to record transactions and make adjustments in the court's judicial information system. No other employee reviews to the work, according to the letter. The same employee prepares checks from trust accounts and reconciles the corresponding bank statements.

"Insufficient separation of duties increases the risk that public funds could be misappropriated without detection," according to the letter. "We recommend the county clerk's office segregate duties in the receipting process or develop compensating monitoring controls."

Allen stated the issue was dealt with after last year's management letter.

Auditors raised an issue with the Treasurer's Office granting extra time to an employee without going through the official process, according to the letter. County policy requires compensatory time to be tracked and reconciled by the accounting department. It limits balances to 40 hours unless approved by the commissioners.

"From June to November 2010, the treasurer authorized the chief deputy treasurer to informally track extra hours worked on a spreadsheet, with the intent of offsetting that extra time in subsequent months without going through the official process," according to the letter.

The commissioners decided to pay the chief deputy $8,616 for the extra compensatory hours, according to the letter.

"Lack of timely compensatory and overtime approval hinders the effectiveness of supervisory review and increases the possibility that compensatory time is accrued and overtime is paid for time not earned," according to the letter.

Commissioner Richard Stevens said a memo was sent out addressing the issue after it came to the commissioners' attention.