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Hampton Hills board tables outsourced finance contract after heated debate over treasurer authority
Summary
Trustees postponed action on an outsourcing contract with Lauterbach & Eamon after weeks of dispute over whether a contract would supplant statutory treasurer duties; the meeting also featured public comment from the former treasurer alleging past reconciliation work and concerns about missing cash.
The Hampton Hills Village Board voted to postpone indefinitely consideration of a contract with Lauterbach & Eamon to provide outsourced finance support after extended debate about the legal boundaries of the village treasurer’s duties.
The question of whether the firm could be both an auditor and a provider of treasury-like services surfaced repeatedly. Trustee opposition and a recommendation from the village’s attorney led a majority to approve a motion to postpone the matter while staff and counsel clarify statutory limits and the contract's scope.
Former village treasurer Timothy McPhillips used public comment time to say he had been told there were prior concerns about missing cash and an outside forensic audit; he told trustees he personally reconciled bank accounts ‘‘because I did them’’ and disputed claims that reconciliations had not been completed. The new treasurer, Patsy Smith, told the board software issues and missing journal entries have delayed some work and that auditors and an outside consultant had completed reconciliations used for the fiscal-year audit.
Board members described conflicting evidence in the accounting files. One trustee said an outside consultant completed ARPA reconciliations and bank recs for the FY24 audit, while others said transfers and payroll invoices had not been entered into the current accounting software and that older escrow accounts dating to about 2016 remain unresolved. Trustees asked staff to produce a legal opinion and additional documentation before reconsidering the contract.
The board discussed alternatives, including talking with a different auditor (Sikich was mentioned) to find a structure that would keep statutory treasurer duties clearly with the appointed treasurer while still obtaining outside accounting support. Trustees also debated whether the contract as drafted primarily offered oversight and review rather than the hands-on operational duties that belong to a statutory treasurer.
The board’s action was procedural: the motion to ‘‘postpone indefinitely’’ was carried, leaving the contract unsigned and the legal questions open. No implementation or change to village payroll or vendor processing was authorized as part of the vote.
