Adams County committee directs clerk to audit treasurer's office after $733,110.77 settlement discrepancy

Adams County committee members voted to send a resolution to the full county board directing the county clerk to oversee an audit of the county treasurer's office after discrepancies surfaced in February tax settlement reports that the county estimates at about $733,110.77.

The resolution, framed under Wisconsin Statute 59.47, passed after several hours of discussion at the PAD & PHY committee meeting where County Treasurer Kara Dozle, finance staff member Kyle Patterson, County officer Cynthia Haggard and the corporation counsel described how differences in report run dates, entries into the Catalyst tax software and a county decision to begin entering payments early contributed to incorrect settlement numbers being distributed to municipalities.

The audit direction matters because municipalities rely on accurate settlement runs to receive tax collections owed to them. Committee members and several town clerks said some towns were told they were short thousands of dollars on their settlement reports and that municipal budgets and reporting deadlines were at risk if funds were not reconciled promptly.

Dozle, who ran the February settlement reports, said she followed the training and procedures available to her and acknowledged mistakes. "I have made mistakes in this first month," she said, adding that she invited town treasurers into her office to review the pulls and had asked for an independent auditor familiar with the software. Dozle said she "stood by her decision" to enter payments she believed should legally have been included in the February settlement and argued paying towns for collections received was "the cleanest and easiest way to handle the situation."

Kyle Patterson, identified by committee members as the finance staff conducting reconciliations, told the committee his review produced materially different refund amounts for multiple municipalities. Patterson said his reconciliation work showed, for example, one town's refund should be about $91,000 versus the treasurer's report of roughly $39,000; he described similar large differences for other towns and attributed many differences to county payments being pulled into municipal settlement reports.

The corporation counsel explained the statutory basis for the committee action and the county's authority to examine the treasurer's books, citing Wis. Stat. 59.25 (authority for county officers to examine records) and Wis. Stat. 59.47 (allowing the county board to appoint the county clerk to direct an audit if no auditor is appointed). The counsel also read the delinquent-installment statute, Wis. Stat. 74.117, explaining the five working-day grace period applied this year and that the relevant cut-off for timely payments was Feb. 7, 2025.

Town clerks' emails read into the record detailed confusion with the new Catalyst software, slow vendor support, and large calculation errors in some town settlement packets. One clerk from Big Flats wrote that her treasurer had been told to take two numbers and subtract them and still could not reconcile the $29,000 discrepancy reported to her. Committee members said some town reports and filing deadlines were imminent, increasing the urgency for a prompt reconciliation.

Several supervisors said an audit was necessary to produce a reconciled, documented set of numbers. "There's only one way to reconcile and it's to get to the penny," said Supervisor Cynthia Haggard in support of an audit, noting she had been prepared to release a check based on the treasurer's schedule but withheld it once reconciliation concerns emerged. Committee discussion also included whether the county finance department, an independent auditor, or the county clerk should direct the work; the resolution gives the county clerk direction authority under Wis. Stat. 59.47 and does not require the clerk to do the fieldwork personally.

After debate — which included calls for additional training, questions about software support and concerns about office staffing and procedures — the committee voted to approve the resolution directing the county clerk to audit or direct an audit of the treasurer's office. Named votes recorded on the floor were Yes from Supervisor Pease, Supervisor Edwards, Supervisor Paler, Supervisor West and Supervisor Gavarski; the motion passed and the resolution will go to the full county board next week.

Committee members and staff said they expect the clerk to coordinate with finance staff and, if necessary, outside counsel or auditors to reconcile town-by-town settlements, document corrections and issue any required refunds or adjustments. Several members emphasized the need to complete reconciliations ahead of municipal reporting deadlines and to preserve documentation so settlements "get to the penny."