Yet another Schuylkill County agency's financial practices have come under scrutiny.

State police launched an investigation into the Schuylkill Conservation District after county Controller Christy D. Joy examined its 2012 financial report and found that money may have been misappropriated or embezzled.It's not clear how much money may have been taken due to what Joy termed irregularities in the agency's accounting practices. according to the audit, the problems stemmed from not having the district manager's required signed approvals on payments, which may indicate misappropriation of funds; an inability to completely segregate all duties, due to too few employees; and failure to record transactions in a timely manner.It took awhile for Joy's office to obtain the audit."The Conservation District's books and records did not materially roll forward for 2012. I suggested to the administration the need for a full external audit, or at the very least an internal audit by the county controller," Joy said.He said an outside firm, Z&A Accounting, performed the audit, but that it was not given to the controller's office until June 5 "despite multiple formal requests in 2013," he said."The Conservation District's audit report contained substantive findings. If these findings were addressed by management, this alleged embezzlement would have been prevented," Joy said.Conservation District Manager Elizabeth Hinkel says her agency is correcting the shortcomings by upgrading its record keeping practices and making sure any spending is approved in writing. But it cannot afford to hire more staff in order to segregate duties.In a prepared statement, Hinkel said she and a staff member were doing a routine review of files on May 30 when the staff member "found what appeared to be file folders documenting fraudulent activity, which was first flagged when the staff person noticed what appeared to be fraudulent signatures. This information, as well as bank statements and canceled checks, were reviewed by the district manager, who contacted the county administrator that afternoon, per the financial policy."Hinkel met with county officials on June 2, and state police were called in that day. She said she was asked by Joy on June 4 for the 2012 audit, which she provided on June 5."At this time, there is no indication that any county funds are involved in the suspected embezzlement, only district-administered funds," she said.District-administered funds come from state and federal money."Immediately following the receipt of the 2012 findings, the SCD began implementing the necessary internal controls as recommended by Z&A. All invoices are reviewed and signed by the district manager. In addition, the board of directors has always and continues to receive a monthly report of district financial activity, which is reviewed and approved each month at the board meeting," Hinkel said."The SCD has always strived for transparency and has always had an open line of communication with county administration," she said. "The SCD has no knowledge of formal requests made for a copy of the 2012 SCD audit report from the county controller's office, following submittal of the report to county administration in October 2013."The Conservation District is the second county office to be investigated after audits turned up improprieties. The county Clerk of Courts office irregularities surfaced in March after Joy's office examined its 2012 audit.Chief Clerk Stephen Lukach retired from his post of 27 years in the wake of the findings, which including county money being spent on items for personal use. State police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney General are investigating the matter. No charges have been filed against Lukach or members of his staff.