Legislative PEER Committee Releases Report on Tunica County

The Mississippi Legislative PEER Committee is releasing its report titled A Limited Management and Financial Review of Tunica County.

Some of the Committee’s major findings include:

• From FY 2013 through August 2019, the Tunica County Board of Supervisors expended approximately $4.3 million more than the revenues received by the county—i.e., the county deficit spent.
• In April 2018, the board of supervisors approved the transfer of $5 million from the county’s road fund to the county’s general fund, a practice that is contrary to state law.  In December 2018, the Attorney General opined that the county’s transfer from the road fund to the general fund was not permissible.
• In several instances, the minutes of the Tunica County Board of Supervisors do not state with sufficient specificity the reasons for entering into executive sessions, as required by MISS. CODE ANN. Section 25-41-7 (1972).
• The Tunica County Board of Supervisors did not comply with state law in the issuance of tax levies during FY 2014 and was subsequently required by court order to refund collected taxes in the amount of $189,791 to one taxpayers (with more potential refunds in the future).
• PEER identified deficiencies in the internal control policies and procedures of the Tunica County Board of Supervisors and the county administration.  These breaches of best practice hinder transparency of the county’s financial statements, hurt the county’s ability to budget its revenues and expenditures accurately, increase the risk of fraudulent use of county resources, and expose the county to possible litigation.
• Since the beginning of the Tunica County Homeowner Rehabilitation Program in 1998, the county has approved approximately $13.6 million in expenditures for the program.  For the period October 2014 through August 2019, the county expended $1.7 million on the program, with $681,000 (41%) being for administrative expenses only, which exceed industry standards.

Highlights from the report:

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