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Treasure County commissioners order review of bank accounts after audit flags overspend on ambulance grant
Summary
Commissioners reviewed auditor Bob’s draft showing several manageable findings and a principal issue — an overspent ambulance grant — and directed staff to identify accounts held under the county EIN to verify whether irrigation district funds (HID/YID) are segregated or commingled.
Treasure County commissioners reviewed an auditor’s draft of findings and directed staff to identify all bank accounts held under the county’s Employer Identification Number, after the county’s accountant said the audit showed an overspent ambulance grant that will require a budget amendment.
The review stems from a packet the auditor delivered in early May, which the board discussed at its May 6 meeting. Accountant (S2) told the board that "one of the findings was that we overspent on a budget and we needed to do a budget amendment," and described the findings as "manageable." The board then debated whether the county’s current single-account structure — backed by internal ledgering and use of a short-term investment program (STIP) — had obscured the location of funds for entities with separate EINs.
Why it matters: auditors flagging overspends trigger required budget fixes and public disclosure; commissioners said they want to confirm that special-purpose entities such as HID and YID retain their own funds and are not unintentionally subsidized from the county’s general cash pool.
Accountant (S2) proposed a direct step: "I make a motion that we go to the banks and I wanna find out the bank accounts that are under our EIN number," which Committee member (S1) seconded. Commissioners discussed using a written request, possibly from Hannah, to the county’s banker to obtain a list of accounts. The accountant emphasized that HID and YID have their own EINs and "should have their own bank account" because those funds are billed to the entities’ customers rather than county taxpayers.
Board members explained the county’s current practice: the treasurer’s office clears payments from a consolidated bank account while maintaining fund-level accounting in its system. Committee member (S4) described the consolidation as raising interest income for the county but acknowledged that the approach can confuse smaller boards: "She's keeping it all separated in the computer, all in the general fund, 1 account at the bank." Several commissioners said they were not alleging wrongdoing but called the issue a housekeeping matter worthy of verification.
Next steps: the board’s motion produced a direction to staff rather than a formal recorded roll-call vote; staff were asked to request an account list from the bank and report back so the commissioners can determine whether HID/YID funds are appropriately segregated or require new, separate accounts. The board also noted the audit will require a budget amendment to address the overspent ambulance grant.
The meeting continued with other agenda items; the board set a follow-up action to review the bank-account inventory and the details of any required budget amendments.
