|
The company performing the county audit, Crowe Chizek, had a long
list of issues for the county treasurer to address. Last month it
appeared that they would be moving forward if inter-fund balances
were addressed.
Logan County Treasurer Mary Ellen Bruns said she couldn't get the
funds to balance using the new system and could not get Tectura, the
computer consultants representing the software company, to fix it.
Tectura initially said it was good the way it was and that they
couldn't make the system do it the way the auditors want it.
The Logan County state's attorney's office was called on to draft
a letter that would put pressure on Tectura. They eventually agreed
to go in and change numbers, but only at the direction of the
treasurer; they did not want to be put in a position of liability
for accounting changes.
The audit is needed to tell the county where they stand on
finances. This year's funds were anticipated to reach an accumulated
low point before new measures to bring in more revenues reverse that
trend. Finance committee members hoped to have the figures much
earlier than normal in order to prevent shortfalls that could lead
to layoffs or not having funds to pay bills at the end of the year.
The Logan County Health Department also relies on the return of
the audit. They do not receive some of their grant funds for the
year until they can submit a copy of the audit. The delay puts a
strain on their operating budget.
However, the health department is now facing a bigger problem.
They also need the audit results to apply for next year's grants and
have only until the end of this month to do that. Carol Ash said
that the health department is 60 percent funded by those grants.
This could seriously affect next year's services and programs.
Fully expecting that the audit would either be in their hands or
on its way, finance members were once again disappointed on Thursday
morning when they were told that the auditors are still dissatisfied
with several issues, including capital fund balances and stipends.
[to top of second column] |
 Reportedly the auditors heard from the computer company, and the
computer representative said that they are finished and will not
change anything else.
Complicating matters more is that the auditors are saying they do
not have time to work on Logan County's audit until Sept. 15. This
puts the county past the due date when they are expected to submit
the audit to the state.
Jonathan Wright from the Logan County state's attorney's office
has been contacted and is assisting in attempting to get the
situation resolved. A teleconference has been set up for all parties
to talk to one another on Tuesday afternoon. The plan is to set
specific goals and time frames that each party must meet to get the
audit completed.
Ash asked on behalf of the health department and was granted
permission to be present for the call.
It was pointed out that this is the last year of a three-year
contract with the auditors. That process will be going out for bids.
Committee member Vickie Hasprey commented that there are four
months left in the fiscal year.
New budget process begins
The finance committee is preparing for next year's budget.
Special requests have begun rolling in. Oasis and CIEDC requests
came in this week.
Budget requests from the county departments are due on Aug. 15.
The finance committee will have a special meeting at 8 a.m. on
Aug. 22 to begin the 2006-2007 fiscal year budget process.
[Jan
Youngquist]
 |
