Minneapolis will soon have a fresh audit of its impound lot, but the city's internal auditor failed to check whether the city was reimbursing the owners of impounded cars any money due them above city costs.

That continues a pattern of past audits that looked primarily into money-handling and other areas of impound operations. Internal Auditor Magdy Mossaad said the audit he will report on next week did look somewhat at compliance with regulations governing the impound lot, but not deeply enough to determine whether vehicle owners got cash they're entitled to. "Maybe we should have but we as an auditor cannot cover every possible risk and regulation," Mossaad said Monday. The next audit of the impound operation may not happen for two to three years, he said. Mossaad said that the audit staff attended an auction to make sure it was run fairly. The staff also noted the state law governing refunds, but didn't check whether any were issued. . State law entitles owners to recover auction proceeds above city costs, but doesn't require that owners be explicitly notified of the money to which they're entitled. The Star Tribune reported that so far this year only one of as many as 426 people eligible for refunds asked for one. The impound lot was rated in the city's 2011 audit plan as an area where risk was likely, but the potential impact of monetary losses was minor compared to other areas of the city. The impound audit looked mainly at controls over cash handling, accounting, security and management. Mossaad said he also put the impound lot on a list of audit targets because it came up repeatedly with council members as a source of constituent complaints. Audit Committee member Mark Oyaas said he also urged Mossaad to look at impound operations.