Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/91307
'IN A SHARPER MANNER' The Sarasota County Commission has asked for new administrative steps to follow up on audits by the Office of the Clerk of Circuit Court. File photo COUNTY COMMISSION REQUESTS FORMAL NOTIFICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF'S HANDLING OF ISSUES FLAGGED IN AUDITS By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor The Sarasota County commissioners have asked County Administrator Randall Reid to provide them updates on measures he and other administrative staff take to resolve prob- lems flagged in audits by the Sarasota County Clerk of Court's Office. The commissioners want to avoid a repeat of situations that led to the Procurement Depart- ment scandal in 2011, they told Reid. The discussion followed Clerk of Circuit Court Karen Rushing's presentation of her office's latest audit report during the commission's Oct. 23 regular meeting in Sarasota. That au- dit examined the county's permit and impact fees. The report's synopsis says, "The permitting and impact fee assessment and collection process is complex and there are not written guidelines or procedures documenting this process. Undercharges and overcharges were noted during the audit …" The report notes, for example, "Permit clerks and other personnel rely on their knowledge and refer back to emails and memorandums that they each may store for reference." Under the heading, "Insufficient Segregation of Duties," it also points out, "County per-