Dix Addressing State Audit Findings

Several issues that merit corrective action were addressed in a letter to the Village of Dix Board Chairwoman Linda Rasmussen from the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts. The letter was dated Oct. 24.

The audit for the village determined that "Despite withholding the federal taxes from employees' compensation, the village clerk has neither remitted those amounts to the IRS nor filed the quarterly Form 941s."

The audit report explained that the clerk at the time apparently stopped making payments to the IRS when the electronic payment system was initiated because she could not figure out how the system worked. She has since resigned and been replaced by Vicky Goodner as clerk.

Rasmussen said, "We are working on the matter. We will get it figured out." There is no report of missing money from the audit.

Now that the audit has been publicly released, Rasmussen is hopeful that the gossip and rumors will subside. A resident of Dix for decades, Rasmussen has one more year on her Village Board term, and she said, "I've taken a lot of crap, but I'm not going to quit."

The village has an estimated balance of $133,124 owed to the IRS, more than half due to penalties. Rasmussen said, "Hopefully, some penalties will be reversed."

Other audit concerns from the state auditor included the Health Saving Account Plan, which was not implemented correctly. HSA payments were made directly to the three employees. The village was unable to provide the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) with a formal, written policy by the board regarding an HSA.

Christmas bonuses for the three employees from 2020 to 2022 were also highlighted. The bonus payments total $1,750.

The letter states, "The APA is unaware of any legal authority for the village to give an employee bonus apart from a valid employment contract or formal policy authorizing extra compensation for additional work performed." Rasmussen stated, "We didn't know that it can't be called a Christmas bonus; it has to be called something else."

The APA scolded the Village Board for the Lack of Purchasing Card Policy, essentially using a debit card when a credit card would have provided better fraud protection for public funds.

Another issue that the village was reprimanded for was unapproved claims paid by the village with a debit card or check totaling $165,848.76 over a period of four years. The APA quoted the Neb. Rev. Stat 17-614, which requires a "payment of money shall require for their passage or adoption the concurrence of a majority of all members elected to the city council."

The Dix Village Board is a five member board elected to four-year terms.