Department of Conservation receives "good" rating in state audit

(From State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick)

A report released today by Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick finds the Missouri Department of Conservation is well managed overall but needs to make improvements to increase its level of transparency. The audit gives the department a "good" rating while also making recommendations to improve certain controls and procedures the department has in place.

"With the level of autonomy the department has over how its funds are used, this audit was conducted to provide accountability and transparency for taxpayers. I am encouraged to see the department is in most regards well managed and following the law, but there are some areas where the department can improve," said Auditor Fitzpatrick. "Our audit gives the department a road map to increase transparency and tighten up some controls and procedures so their policies are fully complied with. I am hopeful the department will take these recommendations seriously and work to put them into place."

One finding in the audit identifies how the Conservation Commission does not clearly identify its workshops as being open to the public, nor does the Commission maintain detailed minutes of the meetings. The workshops are separate from the Commission's regular open meetings, are more informational in nature, and generally include more detailed deliberations of the Commission. The report notes that while the Commission appears to be in compliance with state transparency laws, improvements in meeting disclosures and increased access to workshop discussions would improve transparency to the public. 

The audit also found the department has not consistently applied its salary policy when a promotion creates a salary inequity. The report notes an instance in which an employee was awarded a salary that resulted in a promotional inequity per MDC policy. The MDC Branch Chief and Human Resources Branch Chief reviewed the 6 additional employees in that job title, as required by policy, and also included 8 employees in an unrelated job title. The review resulted in raising the salary of 3 employees with the same job title to the same amount, and raising the salary of another employee with the same job title to a higher amount. However, 2 other employees with the same job title who had salaries lower than these adjusted amounts were not given the raise. Additionally, the MDC increased the salary for 6 of 8 employees in the unrelated job title, which is not in accordance with policy. 

In addition, the audit found the department needs to improve controls and procedures to ensure the Agriculture Crop Policy and Procedures Manual is followed. The report notes the department currently does not provide adequate supervisory review or verification of all required documentation. The department also needs to improve controls and procedures for the timber sales checklist. The report found the department does not follow all of the steps of the checklist as required by the Sale of Forest Products Manual, which has resulted in missing or inconsistent documentation. 

The final finding in the audit documents the failure of the Department of Conservation Employees' Benefit Plan (CEBP) Board of Trustees to implement some prior audit findings related to the administration of the CEBP. The audit found the CEBP does not allocate the proportionate share of personnel costs of MDC employees who administer the CEBP to the CEBP Trust Fund. As a result, these costs were paid from the Conservation Commission Fund rather than the CEBP Trust Fund, and therefore, were not covered by plan premiums. Additionally, the CEBP has not evaluated its Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) liability amounts, considered prefunding the OPEB liability, or obtained experience studies and audits of actuarial valuations.



The complete audit is available online here.