An operational audit into the Waukesha County Clerk’s office has found several issues in the department, including approximately $27,000 that is owed from the office to municipalities for the sale of dog licenses.

Nine recommendations for improvement have resulted from the audit of the office that is run by Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, who has been publically embattled since she failed to turn in the unofficial City of Brookfield vote count in a  close State Supreme Court race. The April 2011 election fiasco caused challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg to declare victory over incumbent Justice David Prosser. The tallies from Brookfield gave Prosser the needed votes to win the election.

“Internal Audit has discussed the findings and recommendations with the Waukesha County Clerk’s Office management and they are generally in agreement with the findings and recommendations,” a memo from Lori Schubert, Internal Audit manger for the county. “Management’s responses to each recommendation are incorporated into the body of this report. Internal Audit appreciates the cooperation extended by the management and staff of the Waukesha County Clerk’s Office.”

The county board’s Executive Committee will discuss the audit during its meeting at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Staff in the county clerk’s office recorded marriage licenses with a single user ID and password, which violated county policy and is considered a poor security practice, according to the document. The IT Division has made the necessary changes to fix the problem.

Municipalities were shortchanged about $27,000 during the past several years for the sale of dog licenses, the document states.

“Several errors were noted in reconciling the balance sheet general ledger account used to record and monitor dog license,” the document states.

As a result of the audit, the clerk’s office will be refunding the municipalities the money that is owed. The clerk’s office is also changing its process in collecting dog licenses.