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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 11071995 - C92 To:, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS .. ,ontrae, FROM: PHIL BATCHELOR, County Administrator o: Costa ` County y DATE: November 7, 1995 SUBJECT: RELIEF OF CASH SHORTAGES - MUNICIPAL COURTS SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)& BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: Approve relief of cash shortages totalling $134.00 in the Walnut Creek-Danville and Delta Municipal Courts, as recommended by the Auditor-Controller. BACKGROUND: A cash shortage occurred in the Delta Municipal Court on July 13, 1995 in the amount of $35.00. The shortage was detected during the closing reconciliation. It is suspected that the money was receipted, but not collected. Staff have been advised to use extra caution when collecting monies and to avoid conducting conversations at the counter until the financial transaction is complete. A cash shortage occurred in the Walnut Creek-Danville Municipal Court on August 29, 1995 in the amount of $99.00. The exact cause of the shortage could not be determined, but it is suspected that staff accidentally gave a $100 bill instead of a$1 bill when making change. The shortage occurred while the office was temporarily relocated after the fire and, without a cash drawer, bills of different denominations were not organized and divided, but were stored together in a temporary cash box, thereby increasing the probability of this type of error. Based upon commitments by the District Court Managers to improve cash handling procedures and strengthen cash controls, the Auditor-Controller recommends relief of the cash shortages. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: -YES SIGNATURE: Qj�� RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOA OMMITTEE APPROVE _,OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON November 7, 1995 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _ OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT i10 P ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: _NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Contact: Sharol Strickland (510) 646-6007 ATTESTED November 7, 1995 Municipal Courts Administration PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF County Administrator SUPERVISORS fND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Auditor-Controller BY ,DEPUTY M382 (10/88) Office of COUNTY AUDITOR-CONTROLLER Contra Costa County Martinez, California August 14, 1995 TO: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator FROM: Kenneth J. Corcoran, Auditor-Controller By: Karen M. Watkins, Staff Auditor SUBJECT: Relief of Shortage - Delta Municipal Court /I We have reviewed the attached request we received August 14, 1995 from the Delta Municipal Court for relief of a $35.00 cash shortage that occurred on 7/13/95. We recommend that relief be granted. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY ry-�� RECEIVED AUG 1 51996 1 OFFICE OF l,C'JNTV ADIrf IMSTRATC KW/kw cc: Doreen Calhoun David Sumner MUNIc_—PAL COURT O7 C014TRA COSTA (_v_/Vv'T'I [ ] Mt . Diablo [ ] Bay [ ] Walnut creek-Danville Delta OVERAGE OR SHORTAGE REPORT 7/17/95 Date I hereby certify that the amount over or short in the collections today by SHERRY VICKE16(on JULY 13, 1995) was : Overage $ (Complete item a) Shortage $ 35.00 (Complete items a and b) a . Shortage/ QQW is a result of: Incorrect Change. X MONEY RECEIPTED BUT NOT TAKEN. b. Efforts were made to discover, ascertain and recover the shortage on 7/13/95 by MARLYN POULIN/ SHERRY VICKERS XX Examining all work thoroughly, comparing transactions with checks and receipts issued wherever possible. Further efforts would probably not be successful and would not be justified by the amount of the shortage and the improbability of success . DATE CASHIER Other remarks or suggestions for preventing this type of error, in the future- (if any) EXTRA CAUTION IS ADVISED.PER ,TRANSACTION, DO NOT ALLOW PARTY AT COUI= TO CONDUCT A CONVERSATION UNTIL TRANSACTION IS COMPLETED, ie; TAKE MONEY THAT WAS RECEIPTED BEFORE HANDING RECEIPT TO PARTY. PLEASE REVIEW CASH HANDLING MANUAL YAGES 2k 3 & 4. Sign d. .Mis uez count ng vi �L ApprovedL /1 Title 7roo r, DO EN CALHOUN ` Title ACTING DISTRICT COURT MANAGER o y� e_�I(-_J RECEIVED '95 AUG 10 P 4 :37 `:0NTPOLL.1 0NTRA C 0 S T A COQ. TO: Auditor-Controller , County of Contra Costa FROM: Nancy Rampani , Acting County Municipal Court Administrator By: Doreen Calhoun , Court Operations Coordinator SUBJECT: RELIEF OF SHORTAGE IN ACCOUNT DELTA MUNT_CT_PAL. COURT , Judicial District Pursuant to Bulletin No. 107 . 4 of the County Administrator ' s Office , relief is herewith requested for shortages in the account of the DELTA Municipal Court in the total sum of : THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS , ($ 35.00 ) . Said shortages are fully described in the attached Shortage Report ( s ) which correctly set forth the following pertinent information : Amount of shortage ; Date upon which it occurred ; How and why it occurred; The efforts made to discover , ascertain and recover the shortage , including the dates of taking such action ; A statement to the effect that further efforts would probably not be successful and would not be justified by the amount of the shortage and the improbability of success . As far as can be ascertained, neither the shortage nor any delay in it ' s discovery was caused by fraud or negligence. .. I declare under penalty of perjury that the. foregoing -is true and correct . Executed on :5 at - -California.... ... AINIM Doreen Calhoun Court Operations E4ordinator I-Niaf6y Rampant' ' (by S1�ai'dl Strickl rid ), Acting County Munip`1pa?1 Court Administrator Attachments ' C f 3 Office of COUNTY AUDITOR-CONTROLLER Contra Costa County Martinez, California October 10, 1995 TO: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator FROM: Kenneth J. Corcoran, Auditor-Controller By: Terry Vanden Heuvel, Staff Auditor SUBJECT: Cash Shortage - Walnut Creek-Danville Judicial District We have reviewed the attached request from Judy Lytle, County Municipal Court Fiscal/Administrative Manager, requesting relief of a $99 shortage that reportedly occurred in the Walnut Creek-Danville Municipal Court on August 29, 1995. The exact cause of the shortage was not determined, but the Department has taken steps to improve cash handling procedures. We recommend relief of$99 be granted. cc: Sharol Strickland CONTRA COSTA COUNTY RECEIVED OCT OFFICE OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR J��G SCo2 Administrative Office of The Municipal Courts v Bay,Delta,Mt.Diablo,Walnut Creek-Danville-Judicial Districts ° o P.O. Box 4068, Walnut Creek,California 94596-0068 Telephone: (510)646-6007 �Fax: (51�0)� 6002 J/V��09lIfOPN,1 *,V 0"� i i• ry' ' Kenneth J. Corcoran, Audi tor-Controlr�erw +5 TO: Attn: Jack Cooper, Principal Auditor FROM: Laura Bogaistrict Court Manag�s By: Judy L iscal/Administrative Manager SUBJECT: Request for elief of Shortage - $99 . 00 on August 29 , 1995 DATE: October 3, 1995 As a result of the fire at the Walnut Creek-Danville Court the Clerk' s Office was temporarily relocated on August 29 , 1995 . There was no public counter, no cash registers and only a locking metal box to place receipts in. Our primary effort was to have the office open to the public and conduct business as close to normal as possible. The Clerk' s Office was chaotic, noisy and confusing. When the receipts for the day were cashed out it was discovered that Mary Jo Orpiano was $99 short on cash. Standard steps were taken to determine how the shortage occurred. Daily transactions were reviewed. Mary Jo was questioned regarding the events of the day. We were unable to determine the cause of the shortage. We believe because of the confusion of the fire that control over the receipts might have broken down. It is possible that someone, a member of the public, a construction worker or staff member may have gained access to the daily receipts and taken the money. A more likely scenario we believe is that during the stress and confusion Mary Jo accidentally gave a customer a $100 bill instead of a $1 while making change. Without a cash drawer money was not divided into different denominations . On August 30th lockable metal cash drawers with separate. slots for currency denominations were purchased. Mary Jo Orpiano was reminded of the proper cash handling procedure used when returning change to a customer and the careful counting back ."of_', money given in change. l JAL5-92/wpl Pursuant to Administrative Bulletin 207 . 5, Relief of Shortages in Account, we believe all reasonable efforts have been made to recover the shortage and that there is no proof of fraud or gross negligence connected with the shortage that occurred on September 29 , 1995 . We hereby request relief of shortage in the amount of $99 . If you need additional information please contact me at 646- 6007 . JL:krj JAL5-92/wpl Aisleaag aaxd --- swaisAS I ol!PnV uud AS-loaV Up MS-looV uud r. 3H-103V ui,d -- -i Ql-looV uud M'#song uiwpV luoo-pnV is �epouuo -pnV T Ni ftl O 2 � j 4 AGENDA ITEM November 7, 1995 X CONSENT ( Other Actions ) NO. _ Date Category _ DETERMINATION CORRESPONDENCE INFORMATION APPROVE relief of cash shortages totalling $134-Ge-in the Walnut Creek-Danville and Delta Municipal Courts, as recommended by the Auditor-Controller. Submitted By L c. v. t