State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick found that a mistake made by the Cedar County clerk resulted in the county levying $1.2 million in excess property taxes.
The county clerk did not prepare the back tax, land and personal tax or railroad and utility tax aggregate abstracts for 2020 through 2023, as required, the report states.
The auditor’s office also found that the county collector incorrectly withheld railroad and utility property taxes collected, which resulted in various political subdivisions not receiving the full amount they were owed, according to his office. The audit found that the county collector incorrectly withheld 2% on railroad and utility property taxes collected rather than the allowed 1%. In total, the county collector incorrectly withheld approximately $2,900 from railroad and utility property taxes that should have been disbursed to the political subdivisions, according to the report.
Other findings in the report include the failure of the Cedar County public administrator to consistently file annual settlement statements timely, lacking procedures in the Cedar County sheriff's office to follow up on outstanding checks in the Inmate Trust bank account, a mid-term salary increase of $11,719 to the sheriff that violates constitutional provisions and a failure to develop a records management and retention policy that includes electronic communication, according to the auditor’s office.
In a statement, Fitzpatrick urged county officials to “enact plans to make restitution to the people of Cedar County for this significant over collection of their tax dollars, and for the county to implement all of the recommendations made in the report.”
