A newly released audit of Jeff Davis County’s finances for the year ending September 30, 2023, reveals significant accounting failures, budget violations, and longstanding problems that county officials have failed to fully address.
According to the audit by Singleton, Clark & Company, PC, Jeff Davis County’s accounting records were so incomplete at year-end that outside auditors had to make a “significant number” of adjustments just to bring the books into compliance with basic financial standards.
Auditors noted that this volume of corrections threatens their ability to remain independent — a serious red flag in government auditing.
The root cause, auditors said, was the Treasurer’s Office’s ongoing inability to properly close the books each year, creating inaccurate internal reports and risking public misrepresentation of the county’s financial health. Despite some limited improvement, the auditors made clear that the situation remains unacceptable and called for continued outside accounting help.
Budget mismanagement was also flagged.
The audit found that two major budget categories — General Government and Capital Outlay — were overspent by a combined $92,286.
The county failed to amend its budget in time to legally authorize those excess expenditures, continuing a pattern of budget violations also reported in previous audits.
While a prior violation involving the illegal purchase of vehicles without competitive bidding was not repeated in 2023, auditors emphasized that without formal purchasing policies in place, the risk of future violations remains.
In response, county officials submitted a corrective action plan pledging better accounting and more timely budget amendments, with a target date for improvements set nearly two years away — September 30, 2025.
The audit paints a picture of a local government struggling to meet basic financial responsibilities, despite repeated warnings and ongoing external assistance.
The full audit report is available through Jeff Davis County’s public records or from Singleton, Clark & Company, PC.
