Finance committee approves payment of $34,500 in past airport invoices; will pay audited 2024 amount when available

ASHLAND, Wis. — The Ashland County Finance and Economic Development Committee voted to approve payment of $34,500 that county staff said is owed to the City for airport operating costs dating back to 2020, and approved paying an additional audited amount for 2024 once the city’s audit is complete. The committee took up the matter after county staff said city invoices lacked itemized descriptions, and the county’s clerk’s office had declined to pay because the invoices showed only dollar amounts without detail. “The city sent us invoices, they never told us what in what they were. They were just dollar amounts,” a county staff member said during the committee meeting. Committee members and staff said the county has appropriated amounts the city requested in prior years and that this is an anomaly caused by a change in an earlier agreement when both city and county budgets tightened. Committee members sought assurances the city would provide clearer, itemized bills in the future. One member asked, “How do we ensure that for 2024, once the audit comes back, they bill us and we write a check?” County staff said they would follow up to ensure future invoices include details. Blake Ellefsen moved to approve payment of the outstanding $34,500 and to pay the audited 2024 amount when that figure becomes available; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Committee discussion also included a reminder that the county had appropriated funds based on the city’s prior requests and that the current shortfall likely resulted from the city requesting additional dollars when expenses exceeded earlier estimates. Committee members directed staff to confirm the billing procedures with the city so future invoices are itemized. The committee’s action was limited to authorizing payment and seeking improved billing clarity; no change to the underlying intergovernmental arrangement was adopted at the meeting.