Lake County finance staff report audit progress, request consulting and tax-sale appropriations as state per-capita fees rise

Lake County finance staff told the County Council they have completed most audit work for 2023, will need an expanded consulting appropriation for 2024 and asked for $86,500 to cover tax‑sale processing by a contractor.

The finance discussion opened with a staff member saying, “we're pushing a 100,000,” for consulting support tied to 2024 audit work and later adding that, based on current progress, “I don't think we'll come close to that.” The staff credited in‑house work—naming Liliana for month‑by‑month reconciliation—and said detailed transaction support will reduce uncertainty in closing the books.

Council members were also told the county requested an additional appropriation of $86,500 for the contractor Onyx Electronics, which manages online tax‑sale transaction processing. A finance speaker said the most recent tax sale “was the highest in Lake County history in terms of number of transactions” and that Onyx’s owner told staff the sale “went the smoothest because of the people that we have in place.” The speaker also said the tax‑sale unit had been short two staff members most of the year.

The finance presentation included a briefing on state legislation that will affect future budgets. A staff member identified House Bill 1120 and said it “established a fixed per capita rate by year up to, like, 2029” and read the scheduled rates the county will face: $0.86 per capita for 2025, $1.02 for 2026, $1.18 for 2027, $1.34 for 2028 and $1.50 for 2029. The speaker said the county will need to build those increases into next year’s budget planning and recommended staff coordinate with the auditor (Scott) to confirm the projected resident counts used in the formula.

Council discussion emphasized cleanup of general ledger processes and reducing manual work. A finance speaker said the county is “going through month by month, base payment by bank statement” and that the current process is “a tedious, horrendously slow process,” but praised staff doing that work. Multiple council members asked staff to identify what process and staffing changes will prevent recurring problems and whether some consultant work could be brought in‑house over time.

No formal vote on the requested appropriations was recorded in the transcript during this segment. Staff said they would return with budget numbers and work with the auditor to ensure next year’s estimates reflect the House Bill 1120 per‑capita schedule.

The council also discussed the broader audit implications: the finance speaker said Oracle’s ledger behavior required unwinding prior entries and restoring correct general ledger (GL) processes, and that fixing those root causes is necessary to avoid repeating manual corrections.

The council did not adopt a final appropriation in the recorded remarks; staff described follow‑up steps including confirming numbers with the auditor and preparing formal appropriation requests for a future meeting.