Clinton County staff seek interim fiscal consulting contract for Children and Youth Services

Lauren Bauer, Clinton County children and youth director, told the Board of Commissioners at a work session that the department will ask the board to approve an interim fiscal consulting contract with Computer Aid Incorporated (CAI).

Bauer said the request follows the sudden death of the department’s fiscal officer, Anne Marie Hunsinger, and that the department is seeking outside support “to include support and training” so reporting and reimbursement work can continue. She said the proposed contract would have a maximum total not to exceed $128,800 over 14 months and that the reimbursement rate for the work would be 80 percent. "Anyone coming in has big shoes to fill," Bauer said.

The request was presented as an agenda item the commissioners will consider at their Thursday business meeting; Bauer said the consultants “can start as soon as the contract is executed.” County staff and a commissioner at the meeting emphasized that the fiscal work for Children and Youth Services (CYS) involves complex reporting and reimbursements and requires considerable training, not something a new hire can immediately perform.

No formal vote on the contract was taken at the work session. Commissioners and staff discussed the need to keep the department current with state reporting requirements while hiring for the permanent position.

Bauer also thanked county staff for searching for a firm able to provide the needed fiscal oversight and training during the transition.

The work session record contains no additional details about contractor selection criteria, the proposed contractor’s specific staff assignments, or the funding source beyond the 80 percent reimbursement rate noted by Bauer. Those details were not specified during the discussion and will need to appear in the formal contract and agenda materials when the item is brought for action.