A prolonged discussion of the county budget and recent accounting corrections dominated the Madison County Board of Supervisors' meeting on Monday.

Several supervisors said they had expected a budget work session on Jan. 6 that was canceled and not clearly communicated to the public. In public comment, Vicky Brenner urged clearer documentation of decisions and called social‑media accusations that officials were politicizing the process “neither professional nor helpful.” A supervisor apologized and said the item had been tabled, but acknowledged the public had not received the full background.

Supervisors then discussed a set of accounting discrepancies affecting July–December. Meeting remarks and a written summary provided by Harris/Solutions, the county’s vendor, described a double transfer and misapplied fund numbers that left some months out of balance. Auditor staff and the vendor told the board they have corrected July in the general ledger and plan to complete corrections for subsequent months during the January apportionment process so taxing districts receive correct allocations.

A county official said: "There was a double transfer... eventually it was done in December, and July is now on balance. Future months, August through December, are out of balance in multiple funds each month." An auditor on the call said she had completed reconciliations through December and expected the vendor and auditor to 'knock this out' together, then apply reapportionment to push amounts to the correct taxing districts.

Supervisors set a supervisors‑only budget work session for Monday the 20th at 7:00 a.m. with a backup date the 22nd, and asked the auditor and vendor to provide a firm timeline so department heads can receive needed year‑to‑date figures and prepare budgets. Board members emphasized the need for improved communication to prevent misinformation on social media and to ensure department heads have adequate time to prepare.