CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

FRANKFORT — State Auditor Allison Ball released the audit of the 2022 financial statement of Martin County Sheriff John Kirk. The only comment on the audit report was one that is common to government offices in smaller counties: The sheriff did not have an adequate number of office staff to segregate duties.

“One employee’s duties include the preparing and reviewing of receipts and disbursements ledger, monthly reconciliations, and quarterly reports. We recommend the same person not perform multiple accounting functions, and if the duties cannot be segregated, then the sheriff should provide and document strong oversight over the employee’s work,” the auditor’s report stated.

The document also notes Sheriff Kirk’s response to the finding.

“Due to a limited budget, we do not have adequate staffing to completely separate all accounting functions. We have worked short for most of the past year but have just hired another person for the office. When she is fully trained, we should be able to further separate some tasks. The sheriff will continue to review select deposits via the monthly bank reconciliations and monitor expenses,” Sheriff Kirk responded.

The audit is available on the auditor’s website.