A Washington County government office under scrutiny by the State's Auditor General.
Auditor General Timothy DeFoor says the Washington County Clerk of Courts' office lost out on $1.5 Million in fees from 2016 to 2019 for more than 3,400 cases because alternative sentencing procedures were not being properly followed by county judges.
"Judges are waiving penalties, often for defendants who work full time or have other means of paying for their fees," he said.
The result short-changed taxpayers and ignored the legal process, but DeFoor does not hold the Clerk of Courts' office responsible.
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He praises current clerk Brenda Davis for implementing strong internal controls to prevent this from happening again.