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Broadwater County approves $128,806.61 write-off to clear accounting discrepancy and secure withheld state funds
Summary
Broadwater County commissioners voted at their May 13 meeting to write off a $128,806.61 cash-reconciliation discrepancy so Local Government Services will release withheld state revenues; officials said the gap stems from historical accounting errors and that new controls are in place.
At the May 13 Broadwater County commission meeting, commissioners approved a resolution to write off a $128,806.61 cash-reconciliation discrepancy from the county general fund, a step officials said is necessary to secure state funds that Local Government Services has been withholding.
Treasurer Melissa Franks said the discrepancy arose from historical accounting errors and conversion issues while the office learned the county's reconciliation software. "This did not really affect balancing part of things," Franks said, adding that correcting the reconciliations will return money to the general fund and that the office has instituted cross-training and software fixes.
Multiple members of the public urged a deeper external audit before the board wrote off the amount. "As a taxpayer, we're just going to write off $128,000-plus?" Cindy Christofferson said during public comment, urging an independent review or an internship program to pursue the records.
Bill Jarocki, the county's account/budget official, said the action was driven by the state oversight process. "Local Government Services will not release the money unless this write off occurs," Jarocki said, explaining that repeated audit findings on cash reconciliation led to the state withholding shared revenues and that LGS required the county to balance to zero to have funds released. He argued the write-off would restore revenue flow to departments currently awaiting state grants.
Commissioners said they will continue audit work and oversight while moving forward with stronger monthly reconciliation and quarterly checks with LGS. The board approved the resolution by voice vote after discussion. Officials said the new procedures include simplified monthly reports for transparency, cross-training in the treasurer's office and quarterly checks with Local Government Services.
Votes at a glance
- Approved: Resolution to write off $128,806.61 in cash discrepancy from the county general fund (motion passed by voice vote). - Tabled/returned: Resolution cancelling outstanding warrants (Opportunity Bank of Montana) — commissioners asked for a corrected exhibit and agreed to revisit the item next week. - Approved: Compensation-board recommendation for a $0.90/hour cost-of-living adjustment for elected officials (motion passed by voice vote). - Approved: Claims as presented (voice vote).
What happens next: County staff said they will deliver corrected documents for the warrants-cancellation item at the next meeting and will continue to work with the auditor and LGS on remaining reconciliation questions; officials said improved monthly reporting and continual review will be adopted to prevent recurrence.
