23-1608. County officers; audit required; cost; audit report; irregularities; how treated.

(1) Each county board shall cause an examination and a complete and comprehensive annual audit to be made of the books, accounts, records, and affairs of all county officers in the county. The audits shall be conducted annually, except that the Auditor of Public Accounts may determine an audit of less frequency to be appropriate but not less than once in any three-year period. Each county board may contract with the Auditor of Public Accounts or select a licensed public accountant or certified public accountant or firm of such accountants to conduct the examination and audit and shall be responsible for the cost of the audit pursuant to the contract. An original copy of the audit report shall be filed in the office of the county clerk and in the office of the Auditor of Public Accounts within twelve months after the end of each fiscal year.

(2) The county board shall cause to be published in the same manner as the proceedings of the county board a brief statement disclosing the conclusion of the examination and audit and that such audit report is on file with the county clerk.

(3) At the same time a copy of the audit report is filed in the office of the county clerk, the auditor conducting the examination shall send written notice to the county board and the county attorney of the county concerned, the Auditor of Public Accounts, and the Attorney General of any irregularity or violation of any law disclosed by the audit report. It shall be the duty of the county attorney, within thirty days of the receipt of such notice, to institute appropriate proceedings against the offending officer or officers.

(4) If the county attorney fails to comply with the provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to institute such proceedings against the offending officer or officers and he or she shall also institute proceedings for the removal of the county attorney from office. When notice is received of any irregularity or violation of any law in the office of the county attorney, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to institute appropriate proceedings against the county attorney within thirty days after the giving of such notice if the county attorney has failed to institute such proceedings.

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Annotations

The state Auditor of Public Accounts has authority to conduct an audit of a county's records and, on behalf of the state, charge for the services rendered. County of York v. Johnson, 230 Neb. 403, 432 N.W.2d 215 (1988).

Under former law power of examination of county records was not exclusive in the Auditor of Public Accounts. Campbell v. Douglas County, 142 Neb. 773, 7 N.W.2d 764 (1943).