Madison County audit debate: county auditor outlines options while some supervisors raise politicization concerns

Madison County's board spent significant time discussing the county's annual audit after County Auditor Michelle Brandt said staff must reopen fiscal 2024'25 records to correct accounting issues.

Brandt told the board the county's support vendor offered three options: reopen the year and record claims in the month they were actually cashed; redeem everything in June; or do not reopen and instead record a journal entry carrying the accounting error forward. She said the state auditor's office has asked for a board endorsement of whatever decision the board chooses before the vendor will proceed.

Discussion split among supervisors. Several argued continuity favored keeping the state auditor because the state has already begun work and switching to an outside firm would mean starting over and further delay. One supervisor said, "I'm in favor of having the state continue. They've started it. They're familiar. We need to move on with this." Brandt said the state auditor's office will not finalize findings if the county declines to use the state for the audit.

Other supervisors voiced concern about the appearance of politicization and about ongoing investigations, saying they preferred an auditor with no political ties. One supervisor raised concerns that a state investigator had been present in county offices with election equipment and said the county should avoid appearing politicized. Brandt acknowledged the request for a statement and asked the board to tell the state whether it should continue with the state audit so corrections can move forward.

The board did not make a final decision at the meeting; staff will follow up with the state auditor and report back. Several supervisors said they would like a quicker response because fiscal deadlines and year-end closing steps depend on moving forward with corrections.