Shelby County committee creates Program Compliance Oversight Monitor after CEFS fiscal-year audit finds oversight gaps

Shelby County committee members voted Jan. 28 to establish a Program Compliance Oversight Monitor (PCOM) following a review of the CEFS fiscal year 2024 audit that identified multiple monitoring and compliance gaps.

The audit, presented to the committee at the Jan. 28 meeting, found that the county’s designated program monitor had limited capacity to carry out required oversight tasks, that preventative vehicle maintenance events were timely in a minority of sampled cases, and that the county had not performed expected site visits, training reviews or reconciliations of local match and funds. Committee members said the findings stemmed in part from heightened scrutiny by state and federal auditors.

The audit, which the committee described as a twofold review of Shelby County and CEFS as operator, recommended specific remedies and time frames. Committee members discussed hiring a part-time PCOM to perform program monitoring, site visits and record reconciliations and to restore compliance with state and federal requirements. Committee materials and presenters described an expected workload of roughly 30–40 hours per month for the PCOM and recommended housing oversight with public safety; funding for the position would come from the CEFS pass-through budget.

Committee discussion noted that the county treasurer has been filling the PCOM duties since 2021, but the audit found that level of involvement did not meet Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) expectations for monitoring. The committee agreed the remedy is to appoint a dedicated position, with an initial timeline for corrective measures described in the audit report and with training assistance offered by the program’s subject-matter expert.

The committee then voted on item 6, to establish the Program Compliance Oversight Monitor. Miss Matlock made the motion; Adam seconded. The committee chair called for the ayes and declared the motion passed. The chair said the proposal will be routed through public safety and then to the full county board so public safety can understand the proposed responsibilities.

The committee recorded next steps that were discussed but not finally adopted as binding actions: preparing a job description, confirming funding inside the CEFS pass-through account, establishing the PCOM’s reporting line (the committee discussed public safety as a preferred house), and scheduling periodic site visits (committee discussion suggested no more than two site visits a year as a baseline, with mileage reimbursement). The subject-matter expert indicated she would provide a template and training for whoever is hired.

The committee emphasized the audit’s regulatory context: the items discussed trace to federal/state transit program requirements and a prior Federal Transit Administration-related finding that prompted IDOT to request stronger pass-through monitoring by county program monitors.

Committee members did not adopt a detailed hiring plan or a specific hire date in the meeting; they directed staff to move forward with drafting job scope and to bring the staffing proposal back for approval at a later meeting.

The committee’s action aims to address audit findings that, according to the materials presented, included insufficient monitoring of service delivery and vehicle maintenance, lack of reviews of training and regulatory compliance, and operators’ control of certain public-transportation accounts that the audit said required closer county oversight.