A written letter read at the Shelby County Board meeting on Aug. 14 alleges the Windsor Area Ambulance Service has not received ambulance-subsidy tax distributions since November 2022 and asks how the collected funds will be used or returned.

Linda Voorhees, in a letter submitted to the board and read into the record, said the ambulance-subsidy tax was collected on property-tax bills but payments to local ambulance services have not been issued since late 2022. Voorhees asked whether the county would distribute the funds to the ambulance services as intended or refund taxpayers. The letter asserted the tax was collected for a particular purpose and asked the board to explain its handling.

Board leadership reported the county is working through an audit backlog. They said outside firms have been engaged to complete the annual financial reports and pre-audit work and that the county expects contractors to finish earlier years and move into current audits so state funding and grant reporting are not interrupted. The board also read a public notice from the Illinois EPA about a permit-renewal comment period for a local energy facility and said they had been in contact with auditors and state agencies to confirm progress.

During a public-body comment, a commissioner raised investment questions about county deposits and collateralization, noting that collateral held by banks is intended to safeguard deposits and that use of collateralized securities can limit the bank’s ability to lend the same funds into the local economy. The discussion was framed as a request for more information rather than a formal audit finding.

The board filed Voorhees’s letter with the clerk and said staff would follow up on distribution and accounting questions; county officials also said auditors and contractors are coordinating with state agencies to keep grants and program funding in good standing.