Jeff Davis County approved an increase in its annual auditor allocation from $33,000 to $190,000, raising the monthly equivalent from $2,750 to approximately $15,833 as the county addresses years of documented accounting problems.
That is an additional $13,083 a month, or $157,000 annually — an increase of approximately 476%. The allocation is nearly 5.8 times the previous amount.
The monthly figures represent annual appropriations divided by 12. They do not establish a monthly billing schedule or identify the entire allocation as one person’s compensation.
The auditor line appears within the county treasurer’s departmental budget for fiscal 2026–27. It accounts for approximately 97% of that department’s $162,438.52 overall increase.
County Judge Curtis Evans and commissioners Jody Adams, Roy Hurley, John Davis and Albert Miller voted for the budget. No opposing votes, abstentions or absences were listed.
The additional funding follows repeated warnings about the county’s accounting practices.
Big Bend Times reported Oct. 25 that the fiscal 2025 audit, issued Sept. 17, required 39 adjusting entries and classified the county’s accounting and financial reporting problems as a material weakness. Auditors attributed the condition primarily to insufficient monthly and year-end review by Treasurer Dawn Kitts’ office.
Areas requiring attention included grants, payroll accruals, unpaid bills, cash reconciliations and incorrectly posted transactions. The finding represented an escalation from the less severe significant deficiency reported the preceding year.
The fiscal 2024 audit had already identified substantial corrective accounting work. Singleton, Clark & Company said the treasurer’s office needed a more thorough year-end closing process and recommended continued outside accounting assistance.
Although the number of necessary adjustments had improved over two years, auditors warned that internal financial reports could have been inaccurate. They also cautioned that the extent of corrective entries encroached on the firm’s ability to remain independent.
That audit separately found General Fund capital expenditures exceeded appropriations by $44,384 and transfers out exceeded appropriations by $366,873. Necessary budget amendments had not been brought to commissioners for approval. Auditors recommended regular budget monitoring and financial comparisons from the treasurer’s office.
According to the Oct. 25 coverage, the latest corrective action plan says the county hired a county auditor for fiscal 2026–27 to assist with two annual audits and help the treasurer review accounts throughout the year.
The latest audit also documented improvements: Earlier findings involving budget overages, purchasing, credit cards and journal-entry controls were not repeated. The completed financial statements received an unmodified opinion despite the accounting weakness.
The approved budget allocates the equivalent of approximately $15,833 each month to the auditor account, compared with $2,750 under the previous budget.
The budget does not break down how much would pay for the newly hired county auditor, independent auditing, consulting or other services. The documented accounting problems explain the need for additional support, but the allocation alone does not establish precisely what the additional $13,083 a month will purchase.
