Whitley County Sheriff Bill Elliotte received a clean audit regarding his 2023 tax account settlement, according to Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts Allison Ball’s office.
“The sheriff’s financial statement fairly presents the taxes charged, credited and paid, for the period September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024, in conformity with the regulatory basis of account,” Ball’s office wrote in a recent release. “The auditor noted no instances of noncompliance. The auditor also noted no matters involving internal control over financial reporting and its operation that were considered to be material weaknesses.”
State law requires the auditor to annually audit the accounts of each county sheriff. In compliance with this law, the auditor issues two sheriff’s reports each year: one reporting on the audit of the sheriff’s tax account, and the other reporting on the audit of the fee account used to operate the office.
The sheriff’s responsibilities include collecting property taxes, providing law enforcement and performing services for the county fiscal court and courts of justice. The sheriff’s office is funded through statutory commissions and fees collected in conjunction with these duties.
Between September 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024, the sheriff’s office collected $1,264,277 in county taxes, $2,682,111 in taxes for special taxing districts, $3,477,212 in school taxes, and $2,101,024 in state taxes, according to the audit.
The sheriff’s department received $53,732 in commissions from collecting county taxes, $113,990 in commissions from collecting special taxing district taxes, $139,089 in commissions from collecting school taxes, and $89,293 in commissions from collecting state taxes. The sheriff’s department still owes $32 to county taxing districts, $92 to special taxing districts and $9 to school taxing districts, according to the audit.
The audit report can be found on the auditor’s website at https://www.auditor.ky.gov/Auditreports/Whitley/2023WhitleySTS-audit.pdf.
