Elberta council says state Treasury denied village FY2023 deficit-elimination plan

President Jennifer Wilkins told the Elberta Village Council on Aug. 15 that the Michigan Department of Treasury has denied the village’s FY2023 deficit elimination plan, and she described steps staff are taking to comply with Treasury requirements.

Wilkins said staff are reconciling bank statements and working to resolve discrepancies so the village can meet the terms of the Treasury review and avoid the risk that state revenue-sharing payments could be withheld. She also said a budget amendment is prepared but cannot be enacted until FY2024 is formally closed.

The denial was presented during the correspondence portion of the meeting. Council members did not take a formal vote on a remedy at the Aug. 15 meeting but discussed ongoing reconciliations and monitoring of receipts, with Wilkins noting higher-than-expected revenues from the Elberta Life Saving Station and incoming property tax receipts.

The council’s next steps, as described in the meeting record, are administrative reconciliation and preparing a formal budget amendment once fiscal year accounting is closed. No deadlines for resolving the Treasury denial were specified during the meeting.

The council will take further action if required by Treasury or if staff present a formal remediation plan for approval.