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Finance officials present FY24 preliminary unaudited numbers; commissioners cite comptroller concerns and ERP plans
Summary
Shelby County finance staff presented a preliminary, unaudited FY24 financial update and July/August operating reports. Auditors' adjustments left an estimated $16 million net decrease to the general fund; commissioners discussed state comptroller letters and the new ERP system being phased in for FY26.
Shelby County finance officials presented preliminary, unaudited FY24 results and July/August operating statements during the Budget & Finance committee on Oct. 9, saying the data are subject to revision as auditing closes.
Audrey Tipton, director of administration and finance, told commissioners the county recorded $809.1 million in total property tax collections for the fiscal period and that the General Fund preliminary operating picture included a $16 million net shortfall. Tipton attributed that shortfall primarily to required adjustments: roughly $15 million to the tort liability fund and $9 million to corrections, partly offset by other changes in transfer and ARPA amounts.
Commissioner Mark Ford raised a separate but related concern: recent correspondence from the state comptroller flagged previous budgets for missing schedules and required information. Ford pressed finance and budget staff about the county's plans to avoid conditional approvals in future filings and stressed that conditional approvals could imperil future debt offerings. "The comptroller's office said they would no longer conditionally approve the county's budget each year," Ford said, urging an earlier internal schedule and improved documentation.
Finance and the budget office said they are implementing an enterprise planning and management (EPM/ERP) system designed to produce the state submission and budget book automatically; the EPM budget module is scheduled for late January/early February 2025, with the full projects and grants module to roll out July 1, 2025, ahead of the FY26 budget cycle, officials said.
What happens next: Administration and budget staff said they will work with commissioners on a clearer schedule for FY26 deliberations and will brief the committee on ERP implementation progress. The committee moved the FY24 update forward with a favorable recommendation.
Speakers (first reference): Danielle Schonbaum, finance administrator (SEG 827); Audrey Tipton, Director of Administration and Finance (SEG 920); Michael Thompson, Director of Budget and Fiscal Planning (SEG 1434); Commissioner Mark Ford (SEG 231).
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