Kentucky State Auditor Mike Harmon released an Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagement of the Russell County Sheriff’s Office.
In the AUP, which was introduced in 2018 to reduce audit costs for sheriffs and clerks with clean audit history while maintaining accountability, Harmon’s office noted one finding: “the sheriff’s operating disbursements were compared to the sheriff’s approved budget and the sheriff overspent his operating budget by $71,641.”
Russell County Sheriff Derek Polston responded to the comment with the following statement:
“The Russell County Sheriffs Department was extremely fortunate to have received from the Fiscal Court CARES money during the 2020 COVID pandemic,” Polston said. “These added funds were presented to the fiscal court for budget amendment and received approval, however this department was unaware an additional amendment for expenditures of the CARES Money was also required. Upon completion of the 2020 audit, it is noted ‘over budget’ on line item. The department did not overspend as excess fees were turned into the fiscal court. Additional monies, such as CARES, is rare, thus amendments for expenditures were new and a learning experience.”
This was the only finding in the AUP Engagement of the Russell County Sheriff’s Office.
