Press Release  Audit Leads to Improved Monitoring of Vehicle Use and Inventory Records at Middlesex Sheriff’s Office

Boston — In an audit released today, State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump called on the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO) to improve its monitoring of vehicle usage and the inventory records of its fixed assets. In addition, Bump’s audit, which examined the period of July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018, encourages the agency to implement a vehicle fleet management plan to track and replace aging vehicles that may be causing the agency to unnecessarily incur higher maintenance costs.

“The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office must do more to ensure its vehicles are used only for official purposes and that its inventory records are kept complete and up to date,” Bump said of the audit. “I commend the MSO for taking these findings seriously and for taking steps to address these issues.”

The audit found MSO was not recording odometer readings for many of its vehicles to monitor their usage. The audit notes this could increase the risk of vehicles being used for non-business purposes without detection and needed maintenance not being performed. Additionally, the audit found MSO’s inventory list of fixed assets did not include important information, such as date of purchase, historical cost, and date of disposal. As a result, MSO may not be accurately reporting the total value of its inventory to the Comptroller of the Commonwealth.

In its response, MSO reported it has taken steps to address the audit’s findings and recommendations.

The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office operates the Middlesex County House of Correction, located in Billerica. During the audit period, MSO reported housing 790 inmates, as well as 41 female inmates at the MCI Framingham medium-security reception and diagnostic center. In fiscal year 2019, MSO received $69,933,318 in state appropriations.  

The full audit report is available here.

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