Finance director reports payroll conversion and audit planning; December revenues and investments reviewed

Finance Director Adam told the Stephenson County Finance Committee on Jan. 26 that the county has rolled finance software to 2026 and must adjust payroll transactions for the first two pay periods so 2025 reports can be compiled and shared.

Adam said the first payroll must be moved back to 2025 in its entirety and the second payroll requires several day-level adjustments; once corrected, staff will forward 2025 compiled payroll information for the workers' compensation audit. He also described audit planning changes, including giving Serenity Estates read-only access to the audit portal and shifting more document requests to the start of field work to improve response times.

In the monthly financial review, a presenter said December sales and income tax receipts were stable and roughly $370,000 higher than the previous year. The presenter reported a month-to-month funds decline of about 13% (roughly $1.25 million), largely attributed to three payrolls in December and larger accounts-payable payments; 11 investments matured in December generating about $41,500 in interest and the county placed additional short-term investments of about $1,575,000.

The presenter also said ARPA spending accounted for a major portion of year-over-year declines and noted the county had granted over $800,000 to cover nursing-home bills that have not been repaid. The presenter reviewed changes to senior freeze and personal property replacement tax receipts and said staff are redesigning the tax bill language to conform with general assembly requirements.

What was requested: Committee members asked staff to return updated reports once payroll adjustments are complete and to continue to provide investment and revenue updates.

Next steps: Adam will finalize payroll conversions and provide the 2025 compiled payroll information to the auditors; staff will share updated reports with the committee when available.