By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff
The clerk for the city's criminal cases, the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, is not reporting about $1 billion in forfeited bail, as well as $353 million in other criminal remittances like court fines, costs and restitution, to the Revenue Department, according to a City Controller's office audit.
The release of the audit may add to calls for the Clerk of Quarter Sessions to be abolished as an independent entity and to be merged into court operations. Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille of the state Supreme Court, liaison to the FJD, indicated last week that consideration should be given to Quarter Sessions becoming part of the court's operations like the prothonotary for civil cases.
City Controller Alan Butkovitz released his office's audit of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions for FYs 2008-2009 and 2007-2008 Wednesday. The audit said the failure to report complete and accurate cash activity "has become a serious problem citywide."
Harvey M. Rice, a City Controller spokesman, said that other city entities found by the office to have a serious problem in reporting their cash activity include the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office.
Rice said that before 2009 no accounts receivable were maintained by Quarter Sessions for forfeited bail. Rice said receivables, since the beginning of 2009, are being forwarded to the city Law Department, but not the Revenue Department. The $1 billion figure for forfeited bail was calculated by the First Judicial District in the fall of 2008, but criminal justice leaders have expressed extreme skepticism to The Legal that very much of the $1 billion can ever be collected.
The audit said that not performing reconciliations for the cash bail refund account, which had a balance of $42.9 million June 30, 2008, makes it "impossible to know whether the account is over or short."
In a letter from July, Deputy City Controller Albert F. Scaperotto said the audit did not identify any instances of noncompliance by Quarter Sessions for matters like cash, revenue and payroll, which must be reported under "Government Auditing Standards." However, Scaperotto wrote that there are other deficiencies in Quarter Sessions' control over its financial reporting. Those deficiencies including not forwarding bank reconciliations for the office's cash bail account or costs, fines and restitution account during fiscal year 2008. The audit said $26.8 million was omitted from the city's preliminary financial statements.
Quarter Sessions stopped forwarding bank reconciliation information for its accounts to the city Finance Department when the statewide criminal case management system was instituted because the office was under the impression that the system made it no longer necessary to report that information, the audit said.
The current fines, costs and restitution could be reported to the Revenue Department if the statewide case management system was programmed to allow for that data to be entered, according to the audit.
In a December letter to Butkovitz, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Vivian T. Miller said conducting monthly reconciliations of the cash bail fund is difficult because her office is short-staffed. Miller also said additional employees had been hired and forfeited bail will now be reported to the relevant city agencies.
Robin T. Jones, first deputy of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, declined comment on the audit. Samuel C. Stretton, Miller's counsel, said he had not discussed the audit with Miller and could not immediately comment on the audit.
Of the Legal Staff
The clerk for the city's criminal cases, the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, is not reporting about $1 billion in forfeited bail, as well as $353 million in other criminal remittances like court fines, costs and restitution, to the Revenue Department, according to a City Controller's office audit.
The release of the audit may add to calls for the Clerk of Quarter Sessions to be abolished as an independent entity and to be merged into court operations. Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille of the state Supreme Court, liaison to the FJD, indicated last week that consideration should be given to Quarter Sessions becoming part of the court's operations like the prothonotary for civil cases.
City Controller Alan Butkovitz released his office's audit of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions for FYs 2008-2009 and 2007-2008 Wednesday. The audit said the failure to report complete and accurate cash activity "has become a serious problem citywide."
Harvey M. Rice, a City Controller spokesman, said that other city entities found by the office to have a serious problem in reporting their cash activity include the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office.
Rice said that before 2009 no accounts receivable were maintained by Quarter Sessions for forfeited bail. Rice said receivables, since the beginning of 2009, are being forwarded to the city Law Department, but not the Revenue Department. The $1 billion figure for forfeited bail was calculated by the First Judicial District in the fall of 2008, but criminal justice leaders have expressed extreme skepticism to The Legal that very much of the $1 billion can ever be collected.
The audit said that not performing reconciliations for the cash bail refund account, which had a balance of $42.9 million June 30, 2008, makes it "impossible to know whether the account is over or short."
In a letter from July, Deputy City Controller Albert F. Scaperotto said the audit did not identify any instances of noncompliance by Quarter Sessions for matters like cash, revenue and payroll, which must be reported under "Government Auditing Standards." However, Scaperotto wrote that there are other deficiencies in Quarter Sessions' control over its financial reporting. Those deficiencies including not forwarding bank reconciliations for the office's cash bail account or costs, fines and restitution account during fiscal year 2008. The audit said $26.8 million was omitted from the city's preliminary financial statements.
Quarter Sessions stopped forwarding bank reconciliation information for its accounts to the city Finance Department when the statewide criminal case management system was instituted because the office was under the impression that the system made it no longer necessary to report that information, the audit said.
The current fines, costs and restitution could be reported to the Revenue Department if the statewide case management system was programmed to allow for that data to be entered, according to the audit.
In a December letter to Butkovitz, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Vivian T. Miller said conducting monthly reconciliations of the cash bail fund is difficult because her office is short-staffed. Miller also said additional employees had been hired and forfeited bail will now be reported to the relevant city agencies.
Robin T. Jones, first deputy of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, declined comment on the audit. Samuel C. Stretton, Miller's counsel, said he had not discussed the audit with Miller and could not immediately comment on the audit.
Comments