County auditor flags fiscal pressures, STR reporting problems and timekeeping weaknesses
Summary
The county auditor and treasurer presented an unqualified audit but warned that post-pandemic trends are reversing: revenues are flattening while expenditures rise. The treasurer highlighted difficulties allocating short-term-rental (STR) occupancy tax receipts because platforms such as VRBO provide lump-sum payments, and described steps to implement a countywide time-management system to tighten overtime controls.
Warren County — The county’s auditor and treasurer told the committee the county’s financials were in good order but cautioned about tightening budgets and several administrative weaknesses that need remediation.
The auditor reported no financial findings and commended back-office improvements, but warned the fiscal trajectory is reversing from pandemic-era surpluses: ‘‘Our expenditures were below our revenues’’ in pandemic years, he said, but the county is now seeing expenditures grow faster than revenue and the general fund balance declining toward the low 20s percent range. The auditor urged attention to cost containment and better budgeting.
Key management issues identified included overtime and timekeeping policies, user-access controls for information systems, succession planning for key positions, and upcoming GASB disclosure requirements. The treasurer described a countywide time-management implementation intended to standardize timekeeping, produce exception reports, and make overtime approvals more transparent.
The treasurer also described a problem with short-term-rental (STR) and occupancy-tax reporting: some platforms, notably VRBO, provide only lump-sum payments without per-property detail, which prevents the county from allocating receipts to the correct municipalities. He said Warren County had subpoenaed VRBO and obtained address-level listings but that data still did not reconcile. The treasurer estimated a potential STR sales-tax uptake between $1.2 million and $1.5 million if reporting is resolved.
Why it matters: The audit and treasurer’s presentation identify specific administrative improvements that could reduce future budget pressure and improve fiscal transparency, while the STR reporting problem affects municipalities’ ability to receive locally attributable occupancy taxes.
What’s next: Treasurer and staff will work on time-management rollout (expected completion for most departments by late February/early March for sheriff) and follow up with state associations and the attorney general on platform compliance to improve STR reporting.
