LaSalle County finance panel to shift monthly meeting, asks departments to speed bill submission to ease month‑end close

Chair Tina Jensen called the LaSalle County Finance Committee to order May 30 and opened a discussion about a draft letter asking department heads to speed submission of monthly bills so the auditor's office can complete month‑end close.

The committee agreed in principle to move regular finance meetings to the second Tuesday of each month “to help with the month end close,” and asked that departments get bills and support documentation to the auditor's office earlier so auditors have time to enter invoices, do reconciliations and prepare financial reports. Chair Tina Jensen said the change is intended to give the auditor “more time to develop processes and procedures and work with the departments.”

Why it matters: Committee members and the county auditor said late submissions and so‑called “hand‑drawn” payments — invoices paid before a committee reviews them — have hampered accurate monthly reporting and delayed production of reliable trial balances. The committee’s draft letter asks departments to deliver prior‑month invoices by the second day of the following month so the auditing staff can have roughly five days to process vendor invoices, prepare reconciliations and perform a soft close ahead of committee review.

Committee discussion and details: Committee members acknowledged there will be exceptions (insurance, IMRF and emergency purchases) and discussed common causes of late submission: vendors that mail monthly invoices late (AT&T and some Internet providers were cited), department staff holding invoices on desks for weeks, and decentralized receipt of mail. One member noted the county has “about 50 Visa cards” in use, which increases the volume of items appearing as hand‑drawn. The draft letter also proposes evaluating the county’s purchase‑order (PO) module to reduce backdating by creating POs and matching receiving reports before invoices are paid.

Operational next steps: The committee did not take a formal vote. Chair Jensen said she would give the draft to Amanda (county attorney/staff) to finalize and have the auditors’ office listed as the contact for questions. The committee asked auditing staff to continue exploring the PO module and for departments to consider electronic statements or vendor negotiations (for example, asking vendors to shift invoice dates or payment terms where feasible) as short‑term fixes.

Background and limits: Committee members said the county’s outside auditors had raised the issue and that year‑end procedures already include a 60‑day waiting period before delivering documentation to auditors in some cases because LaSalle County does not routinely accrue accounts payable. Members emphasized this letter and meeting‑date change are procedural steps to improve reporting, not changes to budget authority or purchasing limits.

What’s next: The committee will finalize the letter through counsel, circulate it to department heads, and continue evaluating the PO module and vendor‑communication strategies. The outside audit for fiscal 2024 was reported complete during the same meeting.