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Finance committee reviews audit work, budget-policy edits and nursing center revenue shortfall
Summary
Stephenson CountyFinance Committee on May 12 heard a revenue-and-expense snapshot, an update that auditors were on-site, and staff reports that the county nursing center is tracking below the budgeted revenue; committee deferred final votes on a revised budget policy and a brokerage RFP until next month.
Stephenson CountyFinance Committee members on May 12 reviewed a revenue-and-expense snapshot, were told auditors had completed two days of field work, and learned the county nursing center is tracking below the revenue levels estimated in the adopted budget.
The Finance Director told the committee the revenue-and-expense comparison is a monthly snapshot and that "we're right on target in terms of expenses," adding that the county's bulk tax revenues typically arrive in the second half of the year. The director also said the auditors "were on-site for two days last week" and that staff expect to hear back from them within "the next week or two" as auditors complete their review of supplied documents.
Committee members heard that nursing-center billings were not included in the snapshot of cash because some unpaid bills remain outstanding. The Finance Director said this affects how closely expenses and cash tracking align: "the treasurer only pays bills that we are able to pay with the cash that we have." The committee chair noted that, compared with the budgeted revenue target for the nursing center in the roughly $6 million range, actual revenue through the reporting period was closer to about $4.8million to $4.9million, meaning the facility is running below budgeted revenue expectations.
On procurement, the committee approved an RFQ for bids posted on Friday for nursing-center-related work but laid over an RFP for brokerage services until next month. The Finance Director said suggested edits to the county budget policy have been incorporated into a draft and "those are highlighted for your review"; the committee will consider the policy for approval at the next meeting.
No formal changes to county policy were adopted during the May 12 meeting. Committee members asked that department heads who routinely work with grants be consulted on grant timelines and stipulations in the budget policy before final approval. The Finance Director recommended members bring questions to department heads and noted that only the sheriff and the circuit clerk had provided feedback to date.
The meeting included routine approvals: members approved the agenda, minutes from the April meeting and claims. The clerk recorded the motions and that votes carried; specific claim line-item totals were not clearly audible in the transcript and are therefore not specified in this report.
The committee did not set an immediate date for finalizing the audit or the budget-policy vote beyond the expectation that staff will have follow-up with auditors within the next one to two weeks and that the policy will be returned for a vote next month.
The Finance Director, County Administrator (report on file), Treasurer Kelly and committee chair contributed to the discussion; members noted they will review the highlighted budget-policy draft before the June meeting and that the nursing-center monthly revenue/expense summary will now appear on future agendas for ongoing monitoring.
