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Commission approves Linda Smith contract to finish clerk bookkeeping; board limits reconciliation scope to 2025
Summary
After debate over bank reconciliations and checks‑and‑balances, commissioners approved a contract allowing Linda Smith to complete AP backlog and period‑13 closing; language was clarified to limit bank reconciliation verification to specified 2025 items and authorize the vice chair to sign.
The Osage County Board of County Commissioners reviewed and approved a contract on Feb. 3 engaging Linda Smith to provide professional bookkeeping and consulting services for the clerk’s office, with a clarified scope to limit bank reconciliation updates and verification to specific 2025 accounts.
Commissioners debated removing bank reconciliations and daily balancing monitoring from the contractor’s duties after the treasurer said she would handle reconciling going forward in 2026. County staff proposed wording changes to preserve clerk oversight and to restrict the contractor’s bank‑reconciliation work to Citizens State Bank and Landmark National Bank entries for 2025, period‑13 processing and related closing functions.
Legal counsel advised that the proposal is a contract negotiation and that the board could set scope, term and compensation as it saw fit. The draft term presented ran from Feb. 3 to Aug. 1 (six months) with a proposed total of $70,200; commissioners discussed hourly estimates and whether the proposal implicitly paid for prior uncompensated work. Counsel said the document before the board was a proposal, not a finalized contract, and the board could choose the terms.
One commissioner asked that the contract include monthly reporting requirements to the board, and staff confirmed the contractor would provide monthly progress reports. After language clarifications and confirming that clarifications would restrict the contractor to completing prior‑year reconciliation for 2025 only, the board moved to authorize the vice chair to sign the contract and the motion carried.
Ending: The board approved signing authority and asked staff to finalize the contract language to reflect the limited 2025 reconciliation scope and clerk review procedures before execution.
