Dear Reader:
The following document was created from the MTAS electronic library known as MORe (www.mtas.tennessee.edu/more). This online library is maintained daily by MTAS staff and seeks to represent the most current information regarding issues relative to Tennessee municipal government.
We hope this information will be useful to you; reference to it will assist you with many of the questions that will arise in your tenure with municipal government. However, the Tennessee Code Annotated and other relevant laws or regulations should always be consulted before any action is taken based upon the contents of this document.
Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or comments regarding this information or any other MORe material.
Sincerely,
The University of Tennessee
Municipal Technical Advisory Service
1610 University Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37921-6741
865-974-0411 phone
865-974-0423 fax
www.mtas.tennessee.edu
Most municipal transactions produce stacks of documentation. There may be requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, receipts and cancelled checks. Confidential cash transactions do not produce any such normal documentation. The integrity of the entire confidential funds process is dependant on documentation prepared by the police officers.
The comptroller’s office has developed several forms to document the various types of confidential cash transactions and are covered on subsequent pages. The flowchart below should serve as a “roadmap” for use of the various forms required by the comptroller’s office when accounting for cash transactions relating to undercover operations. Diamonds indicate the form to be completed for each transaction. Circles indicate cumulative or periodic reports.
Maintained by the custodian, this form is used for every transaction involving the custodian. This log records payments into and out of the confidential account, the type of transaction, key details about the transaction, and a running balance of the confidential account. The log is cumulative and tracks multiple transactions over time.
This form is completed each time funds are transferred between an agent and the custodian, including both advances of cash to agents and return of cash by agents. A separate form is completed for each transaction. It also serves as a request for cash by an agent.
Maintained by the agent, this form tracks every transaction an agent makes in paying informants, buying drugs and incurring miscellaneous confidential expenses. It is cumulative and tracks multiple transactions over time. It also maintains a running balance of funds in the custody of the agent.
This form is completed by the agent for each transaction and provides documentation of the agent’s expenses.
This form should be completed by the agent each time he or she pays an informant for information or for services performed, including the purchase of drugs. It should be signed by the informant, using a pre-assigned code name. The receipt also should be witnessed by another officer.
This form, maintained by the agent, is a cumulative log of all transactions with a single informant who is identified by code name. The form should be placed on top of the informant file.
Completed by the custodian, this form serves the same purpose as reconciling a checkbook with the monthly bank statement.
This form is used by the custodian to actually request funds from the special revenue account (Drug Fund) for the confidential account. It also is used to return excess funds back to the special revenue account.
The police chief must submit a quarterly report to the recorder by the 30th of the month following the close of the quarter.
DISCLAIMER: The letters and publications written by the MTAS consultants were written based upon the law at the time and/or a specific sets of facts. The laws referenced in the letters and publications may have changed and/or the technical advice provided may not be applicable to your city or circumstances. Always consult with your city attorney or an MTAS consultant before taking any action based on information contained in this website.
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