The state auditor is recommending the Iowa DOT improve its system of dealing with vehicle registrations and vehicle titles.
The state auditor’s staff reviewed a month’s worth of transactions in the Iowa DOT bureau that handles vehicle registrations and vehicle titles. Those transactions originate in county treasurer’s offices, but wind up in a statewide database. The auditor is raising concerns about how money is handled in smaller counties, as the same person who takes the money from yearly vehicle registrations is sometimes the same person who reconciles the account at the end of the day.
DOT officials have now asked all counties in Iowa to ensure the person who counts the vehicle fees at the end of the day isn’t the same person who first handled the money from vehicle owners.
The auditor’s review did not raise concerns about missing money, however, just about the way money was being accounted for.