Court Records

RECORDS FAULTED FOR SOME TIER COURTS:

Some local courts in the Southern Tier don't keep accurate records of bail and restitution, don't regularly balance their books and even fail to issue receipts at times, according to an audit released this week by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

The audits found no wrongdoing. However, these small town and village courts lacked oversight and internal monitoring, and often had staff poorly trained in record management, Hevesi said.
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Problems included:

* 10 of the 12 justices (Kirkwood's jurists excluded) were unaware that their clerks were supposed to periodically reconcile accounting records and bank balances. In the court of Otego Justice Ronald Decker, clerks had not reconciled the books since Jan. 31, 2004.

* Two justices in Cooperstown, two in Burlington and Decker in Otego didn't maintain proper bail records.

* Justices in Deposit, Cooperstown and Otego failed to keep cancelled checks or other source documents to back up court spending. Justices in Burlington, Cooperstown, Deposit and Otego did not issue proper receipts for money received.
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Burlington Supervisor Leonard Dabreau admitted that justices and clerks lacked training but said the state should do more to provide training -- and money for training. But he also indicated that one Burlington judge has refused to use updated equipment.

"What do municipalities do when they have purchased computer programs, annual updates and (PCs), yet a justice refuses to use the software or even a hand-written system to maintain his/her docket?" Dabreau wrote.

Deposit and Otego officials did not respond to Hevesi's audit.

The comptroller strongly urged the state Legislature to aid local courts by providing training. But he also suggested that it consolidate courts in some areas, sometimes folding village and town courts into one, and removing cash collection duties from some small courts.