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Poseyville treasurer flags misallocated tax funds in cemetery account, warns of costly audit
Summary
Clerk-Treasurer Jodie Rankin told the council that property-tax distributions in June 2022 incorrectly credited Motor Vehicle Highway and Park funds to the Cemetery fund; she will advertise appropriations to correct balances and warned a 2025 audit could cost $25,000–$30,000.
Clerk-Treasurer Jodie Rankin told the Poseyville Town Council on March 11 that a June 2022 property-tax distribution error deposited funds intended for the Motor Vehicle Highway and Park funds into the Cemetery fund, inflating that account’s balance.
Rankin said the cemetery normally receives about $5,000 annually from tax distributions and that the incorrect deposits will require corrective appropriations and transfers. She said she and Council President Justin Rutledge have been reviewing the budget and that she will advertise for additional appropriations and transfer resolutions to remedy the bookkeeping error.
Rankin cautioned that, based on corrections she has already made and the research the upcoming audit may require, the town’s 2025 audit could be expensive. She cited examples of similar towns reporting audit fees in the $25,000–$30,000 range and said that such costs would come directly from tax distributions.
The council did not take formal action other than authorizing Rankin to proceed with advertising the required appropriations and transfers. Rankin emphasized that some asset-management updates — outside of the water system work already completed — remain incomplete and that contracting for comprehensive asset updates is costly.
The council scheduled the next meeting for April 9, 2025; Rankin said she will include the appropriation and transfer items on a future agenda for formal approval.
