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Wayne County adopts revised budget ordinance to meet state reporting rules; commissioners debate object-level detail
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Summary
Facing a Local Government Commission reporting requirement, commissioners adopted a revised FY2025-26 budget ordinance that changes presentation to the functional level (fund/program) without altering adopted revenue or expenditure amounts; vote was 6-1 after questions about specific over-budget object-level entries.
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 to adopt a revised budget ordinance for fiscal year 2025-26 that changes how the county reports budget detail to the state but does not alter adopted revenues, expenditures or tax rates.
Finance staff told the board the revision responds to a Local Government Commission (LGC) requirement after the county received a Financial Performance Indicators of Concern (FPIC) notation in the 2025 audit. The change consolidates line-item (object-level) detail into summarized "functional" categories that align with the stateuniform chart of accounts used by the LGC.
"No change in the amounts that you have approved," the finance director said, explaining the proposed ordinance moves presentation from the object level to the functional level to avoid minor overages flagged at very detailed line items. Commissioners pressed staff to identify the specific object-level overages; the director identified four problem areas, led by a hospitalization claim, and said the hospital claim reflected a large post-July payment that required a modified-accrual adjusting entry.
Commissioners raised concerns about transparency and asked that the object-level detail remain publicly available even if not contained in the ordinance itself. The finance director agreed the object-level data would remain accessible online for public review.
The boardapproved the ordinance after discussion; one commissioner asked for follow-up documentation listing the four object-level line items that prompted the FPIC note. The motion to adopt passed 6-1.
Next steps noted at the meeting: staff will provide the requested line-item clarifications, continue communicating with the LGC, and preserve public access to detailed budget schedules outside the formal ordinance text.
