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Coconino County finance staff report timely audit, ARPA closeout and procurement system upgrades
Summary
Finance told the board on May 14 that timely audits, improved grant administration and a new procurement/contract-management system (IonWave) were among recent accomplishments; staff warned that small team size and vacancies raise capacity and internal-control challenges and urged continued attention to lifecycle staffing and audit costs.
Coconino County Finance presented a FY26 briefing to the Board of Supervisors on May 14 that highlighted a timely audit issuance, closeout work on ARPA awards and new procurement and contract-management tools while noting persistent staffing vacancies and increasing audit and contract-administration costs.
Finance Assistant Directors described departmental services that include purchasing and contract management, grants and single-audit compliance, financial reporting and training, accounts payable and payroll operations, and the annual budget process. The department said it manages grant compliance for multiple federal awards and coordinates single-audit requirements and stated that it has centralized some purchasing functions (copier fleet management and an organizational Amazon Prime membership) to increase efficiency.
Siri (last name not read in the transcript) and the finance team said grants compliance and the ARPA closeout were substantial efforts; they credited staff for using a mix of grant and county dollars to prevent leaving federal funds unexpended and for buying systems (storage arrays, disaster recovery appliances) that support county continuity-of-operations. Finance also reported implementation of IonWave procurement and contract-management software to centralize solicitations and to track executed contracts and insurance compliance.
The department warned about capacity and turnover: several positions were vacant and the office said that, for a small team, overlapping duties create risks for redundancy and internal controls; it has used temporary staffing and internal cross-training to cover gaps. Finance noted audit and contracted-service costs have increased and said the department will continue to pursue efficiencies while maintaining compliance and transparency.
Board members praised the staff’s work on audit timeliness and ARPA management and discussed grants, capital debt strategy tied to the county’s expenditure-limit approach, and the importance of regional coordination where appropriate. Finance said it will continue to prepare user-friendly budget documents and offer countywide financial training sessions for departments.
