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Council hears progress on 2,300 escrow accounts; Lerch Vincy advising on reconciliation and refunds
Summary
Township staff reported work to reconcile roughly 2,300 historical escrow accounts dating back to 1999. The administrator said Lerch Vincy is advising on accounting, ledgers and refunds and that staff are prioritizing accounts to confirm whether bank balances match ledger balances before issuing refunds.
Administrator Mark DeCarlo gave a multi-part update on a long-running effort to reconcile approximately 2,300 escrow accounts dating from 1999 to 2025. He said many accounts reflected legacy accounting treatments and some balances had to be researched before refunds could be issued.
DeCarlo said staff identified several categories: inactive pre-purchase escrows, accounts that should have been recorded in trust modules rather than escrow modules, and accounts associated with outside-billing balances such as utility administrative fees. He said the township had not spent material funds from the reconciliation effort and estimated less than $500 had been spent so far from the $5,000 appropriation to start the work.
The administrator said Lerch Vincy is providing advisory services to reconcile ledgers with bank balances and to help identify accounts suitable for refund or transfer back to fund balance where appropriate. He said the work is time-consuming because of legacy records and the need to verify that funds actually exist in bank accounts before issuing refunds.
Council members asked whether any payroll or employee payments had been missed; staff said payroll and police officer pay had been current and that discrepancies were recordkeeping errors rather than missing payments. DeCarlo said staff would prioritize the work and expect ramping up through the end of the year.
