There seems to be a disagreement between the Roanoke County Sheriff and the State Auditor.
Were receipt books destroyed or just not the kind the state wanted?
It's what the sheriff said in a letter that caught our attention.
But Roanoke County sheriff Mike Winston has agreed to making changes to how deputies give receipts to people they serve with tax and other civil service documents.
Officers used to just give them a copy of a money collection verification form, which they willingly showed WDBJ7.
The state auditor flagged the sheriff's office for its last fiscal year, ending last June 30th. It said an officer destroyed receipt books.
The sheriff says they have just done it differently for years. A check of the previous two audits for the sheriff's office found no problems. They've decided to comply with the state's demand to do it their way.
The money the sheriff's office takes in is tracked. Both a lieutenant and a captain check it off.
The department's records go back about seven years.
What may raise eyebrows is a letter Sheriff Winston sent to the auditor saying, "I am asking for you not to share our business with other agencies."
What did you mean by that?
"I just thought that was our business, rather than our business between other constitutional officers," Winston explains. "To me it would be like you sharing stuff with the other radio and television stations."
Sheriff Winston says this won't affect the department's state or national accreditation. It takes in around $3,000 to $4,000 each year.
