Northern Berkshire District Court

This is a state audit of Northern Berkshire District Court in North Adams, covering how it handled certain court fees, assessments, and bail funds from July 1, 2009 through August 31, 2011.

“In accordance with Chapter 11, Section 12, of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor conducted an audit of NBDC relative to its administration of certain fees/assessments for the period July 1, 2009 through August 31, 2011.”

The audit checked whether the court had proper controls, handled bail correctly, and followed applicable rules for fees, assessments, and bail.

“The objectives of our audit were to assess: (1) the adequacy of the internal controls NBDC had established over its assessment, waiving, collection, and accounting of certain fees/assessments; (2) the processing and disposition of bail funds; and (3) NBDC’s compliance with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and policies and procedures with respect to these fees/assessments and bail funds.”

Court money includes filing fees, fines, bail forfeitures, and other payments that may go to the state or specific funds, so the public has an interest in whether it is collected, waived, recorded, and transferred properly.

“General revenue is the largest source of revenue, consisting of such items as civil case filing fees, bail forfeitures, court costs, fines, and other general court revenue, all of which are deposited into the Commonwealth’s General Fund.”

If you live in the court’s area, this report says the court’s handling of the tested money and bail processes was found to be in order during the audit period.

“The Northern Berkshire Division of the District Court Department (NBDC), located in North Adams, is one of the 62 district courts operating within the Commonwealth and presides over civil and criminal matters falling within its territorial jurisdiction, which includes: the City of North Adams and the towns of Adams, Williamstown, Clarksburg, Florida, New Ashford, Cheshire, Savoy, Hancock, and Windsor.”

The auditor concluded that Northern Berkshire District Court had adequate controls and properly administered the tested fees and assessments.

“Based on our audit, we determined that for the period July 1, 2009 through August 31, 2011, NBDC (1) maintained adequate internal controls over its activities; (2) properly administered its fees/assessments revenue; and (3) complied with applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures in the areas tested.”

The report does not list corrective actions; it says the audit results were discussed with court officials and their comments were considered before the final report was issued.

“At the conclusion of our audit, the results of our audit were discussed with NBDC officials, and any comments made by these officials were considered in the final drafting of this report.”

The audit is significant because it reviewed the court’s main tested non-general revenue sources and bail activity, while noting that the court’s revenues declined from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2011.

“Similarly, NBDC’s revenues decreased from $512,381 in fiscal year 2008 to $407,591 in fiscal year 2011, as shown in the following chart.”

“Internal controls” means the court’s safeguards and procedures for protecting money, documenting it, and sending it where rules require.

“Internal control plans to determine whether NBDC has controls in place to ensure that revenue collections are safeguarded against loss, theft, and misuse and are transmitted in compliance with rules and regulations.”