The Fillmore County Board met in person with the availability of electronic participation for their June 9 meeting. The 2018 audit prepared by CliftonLarsonAllen, LLC was presented by Craig Popenhagen, Laura Buechner, and Miranda Wendlandt.
The county received an unmodified, clean, opinion on its financial statements. The 2018 audit was delayed, normally it should be filed within nine months of the end of the year. Contributing to the delay was the fact this was a transition year, the first year with a new audit firm.
Wendlandt noted there were some internal control deficiencies, which are common in local governments of a similar size. One deficiency was the lack of a segregation of duties during 2018, which should be less of an issue with the separate finance department the county now has.
A monthly or quarterly review process of case files for Medical Assistance Programs was recommended. It was recommended that the county establish internal controls over eligibility. Reviews should be documented. Forty cases were sampled and no compliance issues were found.
One instance of noncompliance was found; the 2017 county financial statement had not been published in a designated newspaper as required by Minnesota statutes. Reports are being prepared for publishing.
The state auditor recommends a minimum of five months of expenditures to be held in fund balances. The unrestricted fund balance as a percentage of revenues was 22% in 2018 or about 2.6 months of expenditures. The state recommends maintaining 35-50% of revenues in the unrestricted fund balance.
General Fund revenues were $414,465 more than expenditures in 2018 allowing this fund balance to be built up. The General Fund had about 3.5 months of expenditures in the available fund balance at the end of 2018.
The Human Services Fund expenditures exceeded revenues by $234,476 in 2018. At the end of 2018 this fund had a deficit of $828,265, which equals over two months of expenditures. Commissioner Duane Bakke asked if it was common for counties to have expenditures in excess of revenue. Wendlandt responded that this was unique; taxes are usually raised to cover the deficit. County Administrator Bobbie Hillery added we can not control some of these costs.
Road and Bridge Fund had a balance of $6.3 million at the end of 2018, or about 2.98 months of expenditures available.
The audit for 2019 will begin soon (July/August) and will be done remotely due to COVID-19 by the same audit firm. It is to be completed by the end of September 2020.
Other business in brief
• A GIS System Upgrade grant from the state of Minnesota in the amount of $22,396 was accepted. Fillmore County is a member of the Southeast Minnesota Communications Board. The sheriff’s office has entered into a contract with the Department of Public Safety, Emergency Communications Division, to upgrade the GIS System.
• Katelyn Sullivan was hired as a replacement social worker,effective July 13. The resignation of Samantha Grabau, case aide, effective July 2 was accepted following 2.5 years of service. A request to advertise for a replacement case aide was approved as requested by the Department of Nursing.
• Hillery reported in regard to COVID-19 that sanitizer stands should be set up soon, screens and glass barriers are up, some workers continue to work remotely, and email, phone calls, and drop offs are still encouraged. Three additional people in the county tested positive this last weekend.
• The Finance Committee is looking into updating processes and procedures to improve readiness for the 2019 audit. Lori Affeldt, Finance Director, intends to meet with account techs of each department weekly for the next few months.
• The board by concensus supports a reminder to be put into the newspaper and on facebook to encourage people to fill out their 2020 census forms if they have not already done so. Census data affects reimbursements and the allocation of dollars from state and federal governments.
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