Judges to auditors: Go away

A new audit by a branch of the Pinellas Clerk of Circuit Court raps the Pinellas-Pasco judiciary for refusing to answer questions, leaving questions over how millions of dollars were spent.

Auditors say they were blocked from questioning judiciary managers and had to resort to filing an open- records request under Florida law. Still, those documents, the audit said, were "not sufficient to verify $4 million of actual expenditures."

Money from the county, but mostly the state, pays for courts. The audit was requested by former County Administrator Steve Spratt in 2007, but after requests for information were blocked, the auditors decided to issue the report this week.

Court officials say auditors lack the legal authority to conduct an audit of judicial officials.

David DeCamp, Times staff writer

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Comments

[chuckles49]

the county administrator works for "the people of the county" if the people lack the authority..then WHO does have over sight of these pompous folks ?

[Hammer]

This situation, and a scrupulous investigation of the JWB, is going to be yet another major embarrassment to our County with respect to our perverted style of exclusive and corrupt politics.

What does it say about your government, when even your judicial officials are hiding abuses and refusing to justify expenditures?

If judicial officials are doing it, what do you think your local political hack is doing?

Ken seems like he’s making some uncomfortable! BRAVO Mr. Clerk!

[Ralphleef]

If they don't want auditors poking around in their books, there's a simple solution: no more county funds to judicial administration. I'm sure that money could be better spent elsewhere.

[paul]

actions speak louder than words! what are they trying to hide now? INVESTIGATION!!!!!!!!!

[trude]

Are these the same Judges that threw the clerks under the bus?
Aint no fun when the shoe is on the other foot.

[goodgovttoday]

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!!! The clerk is playing games with the audit. They are just mad about the legislation in Tallahassee. The county holds the court's money and they can't purchase a pencil without an approved county voucher. Every dime is accounted for as it's spent. The auditor has all those records. This is a stupid political stunt and the people on this blog fell for it.

[Hammer]

goodgovtoday,

If the judicial offices have nothing to hide, then why are they hiding?

Pinellas County can’t even monitor it own expenditures, let alone the Clerks. They’ve yet to explain the $68-million missing from the Cat Fund. A fund created for the purpose of emergency funds in the event of a Katrina-like catastrophe, with the windfall of property tax revenues over the past 5+ years,

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve had no such “catastrophe”, yet the money is gone and nobody will say where it went.

Pinellas County’s entire political structure needs to be audited, and I guarantee were it to happen… you’d be absolutely SHOCKED at the findings. If they were willing to slip a quarter of a million of our tax dollars to Jim Smith (Former Pinellas Property Appraiser) for a worthless piece of property… you can bet your sweetass they’ve engaged in insidious behavior at a level that would leave you dumbfounded.

Stay on ‘em, Mr. Clerk, this dirty little town is long overdue a good house cleaning from top-to-bottom… and it wouldn’t hurt to toss in a good disinfectant while we’re at it.

[trude]

goodgovtoday, the clerks requested the audit in 2007 long before this 2009 legislative session, I read an article today that said the audit was unconstitutional, well things going on in the legistature with the clerks duties are unconstitutional also, but that dont seem to matter, the old do as I say not as I do.