Walworth County Finance Committee approves consent items, ARPA reallocations and multiple resolutions
Loading...
Summary
At its Jan. 23 meeting the Finance Committee approved routine minutes and multiple consent items, shifted ARPA funds to a county radio tower project and a health-records system, and approved several resolutions including a $10,000 donation to Lakeland Healthcare Center.
The Walworth County Finance Committee on Jan. 23 approved routine agenda items, multiple budget adjustments and several resolutions included in the committee packet.
The committee approved the agenda and the minutes of the Dec. 19, 2024 meeting. It then approved consent budget adjustments and transfers including Clerk of Courts increased court‑appointed attorney fees (staff said the Clerk of Courts' 2024 expenditures were higher than originally budgeted and that the county used ARPA funds and a department budget to cover outstanding invoices). Committee discussion identified approximately $122,000 in outstanding Clerk of Courts invoices; staff said the 2025 budget includes an added $100,000 so the Clerk's office has $250,000 budgeted for court‑appointed counsel in 2025 (combining department appropriation and previous ARPA support). Staff also said the county will require monthly billing for those contracts going forward to improve year‑to‑year budgeting.
On ARPA moves, the committee approved moving unobligated ARPA funds to a county radio tower project and shifting remaining business‑analyst funds to the Health and Human Services electronic health‑records system. Committee materials listed pages and backup for these moves; staff said small remaining ARPA adjustments could be made at the management level if amounts are under $25,000 while finalizing fourth‑quarter reporting.
The committee accepted purchasing reports and ordinance‑exempt procurement items including court‑appointed attorney services and information‑technology licensing renewals, and noted a waiver of competition filing for a sheriff's office license‑plate reader system. In discussion members asked about timing and locations for license‑plate reader installation; staff estimated initial online dates in March or April and said documentation lists 10 or 12 camera sites near county line and state highways, with exact locations to be provided.
The committee approved several resolutions: a resolution accepting a $10,000 donation from Suzanne Fuer for Lakeland Healthcare Center (resolution listed in packet as 2‑25); a resolution removing 2024 and 2025 appropriations for the Children's Long Term Support program and an amendment to the 2024 Children & Youth Residential budget (resolutions referenced in packet by number); and a resolution accepting a wrought‑iron fence donation valued over $5,000 for installation near the Government Center radio tower parking lot. The committee also accepted the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2023.
All identified voting items in the packet carried with affirmative votes recorded in the meeting audio as "Aye"; no recorded roll‑call tallies with individual member votes were included in the packet for these items.
The committee received a presentation on the accounts‑payable cybersecurity incident and an ARPA financial update, then set its next meeting for Thursday, Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. in the County Boardroom and adjourned.
