Neb. (KOLN) – A new state audit released Tuesday morning has alleged nearly $1 billion in accounting errors by the Lancaster County Treasurer’s Office
Rachel Garver, Lancaster County Treasurer, who fully cooperated with the audit, said the error Foley refers to was isolated to a semi-annual statement that counted the county’s income twice, showing the county earned nearly $2 billion, when it really earned just under $1 billion.
While Foley said, “Conjuring almost $1 billion out of thin air is hardly a rounding error,” Garver said the report was done how it has been done since 2013. This counts both they money in its initial “holding account” and the final destination of the funds.
They are now changing that process to reflect what the Auditor would like done
Garver, elected in 2018, said the audit did identify about $3 million in over and under payments by her office, which she said have been corrected.
Above all else she wanted taxpayers to know that no property taxes were lost or missing.
Foley stands by his allegation that the county’s financial statements were off by almost $1 billion dollars and that that is a problem.
- Commissions on Lincoln Airport Authority tax collections were calculated incorrectly, with the office taking only a 1% commission instead of the legally required 2%. That mistake underpaid Lancaster County $214,539 between 2021 and 2025 and overpaid the Lincoln Airport Authority by a corresponding amount.
- Motor Vehicle Pro-Rate distributions were calculated incorrectly, resulting in $94,734 in overpayments to 46 local taxing entities and underpayments to 10 entities.
- Homestead Exemption distributions were calculated incorrectly, resulting in $75,220 in overpayments to multiple Tax Increment Financing projects in three municipalities and underpayments to 21 other entities.
- $613,076 in motor vehicle sales and use tax fees, collected between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2025, was recorded in the county general fund instead of the county’s road fund, as required by a six-year-old statutory directive.
Lincoln Public Schools was among the local taxing entities that received an overpayment, according to Foley’s report.
The County Clerk’s Office was also cited in the audit for timekeeping discrepancies. Staff was allowed to adjust hours directly in the payroll system, and auditors found 128 instances of employees adding 501 hours beyond what time clock records showed.
The county clerk provided emails and Microsoft Teams messages to support the hours reported. Employees who were not eligible for overtime could also earn “flex leave” for working extra hours. However, there was no documentation showing when those extra hours were worked.
Auditors also uncovered multiple violations of the county’s remote work policy, including staff failing to sign mandatory agreements or document off-site work locations. They found three office supervisors claimed to be working remotely while on vacation to preserve their paid leave.
In one instance, a supervisor claimed to have worked while driving home and riding a train from a family vacation. In another, an employee away from the office for four days logged eight hours of remote work so only three days of vacation time were used.
“As the second most populous county in Nebraska, as well as the seat of state government, Lancaster County needs to do better. I hope that county officials take the findings in this report as seriously as I do. Further audit work by my office will be forthcoming to ensure that corrective measures are taken,” Foley said.
LPS sent in a statement following the release of the audit:
“We have not received official information from the county, but will work with the county on resolving the discrepancy. We are unable to provide any interview until we receive more information from the county.”
Lancaster County Clerk Matt Hansen also sent a response:
“I am proud that the audit has shown that, overall, my office has maintained accurate financial documentation and effective accounting processes. I appreciate the Auditor’s recommendations as they represent best practices that my office can use to continue to improve our work. We have implemented many of the recommendations already.
Our timekeeping and remote work practices were originally implemented after consulting with Human Resources to confirm that they allowed under the County’s HR policies. We will continue to work with HR to ensure that our office tracks time as expected under the County’s HR framework.”
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