Richland County HHS flags payroll misallocation, notes large expenditures and opioid-settlement spending

Richland County Health and Human Services staff reported a payroll allocation error that has depressed some unit utilization figures and said they will correct the posting with journal entries. Staff also reviewed recent expenditures and noted a large payment for network insurance and use of opioid settlement funds for local programs.

The director explained that payroll allocations for one unit were posted to the wrong account; staff will perform a journal entry correction to move payroll to the proper account. That misposting explained unexpectedly low utilization in Adult Protective Services, staff said.

In the expenditures report, staff identified a roughly $383,867 payment to "J PAL Technologies" described as a renewal of "smart nets" insurance for internet switches. The department also reported an annual fire inspection payment to Johnson Controls. Staff said much of the remainder of expenditures were routine monthly charges such as meals and rent. The TAC program has received a grant from the county’s opioid settlement funds to purchase incentives; staff said grant rules limited certain uses of settlement money, and the TAC program requested approval to use settlement funds for allowable purchases.

On the broader budget summary, staff said the department is at about 29% overall utilization against a 33% expected share through April, and reported a core budget balance of roughly $115,000 after prorating the county tax levy into current projections. Staff cautioned those figures are preliminary and noted other line items will change after accounting corrections.