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Essex staff report $1.4 million school shortfall, board orders joint meeting and repayment planning
Summary
County finance staff told supervisors that school payroll errors and unpaid payroll taxes produced significant penalties and an estimated $1.4 million shortfall for fiscal 2024—25; the board directed staff to schedule a joint meeting with the elected school board within two weeks and discussed a repayment schedule and budget cuts.
Bobby, who leads the county—s centralized services and finance team, told the Essex County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 9 that school accounting and payroll failures have produced a serious budget crisis that the county is already carrying.
"The payroll system is a mess," Bobby said during a detailed briefing and attributed much of the current deficit to payroll taxes that were deducted from employees' pay but not forwarded to the IRS, producing a November—December bill that rose from roughly $45,000 to a $252,000 penalty. Bobby told the board that invoices for January through June 2025 remain outstanding and that staff expects to find additional late payments and penalties.
Bobby outlined the county—s current estimates:…
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