County Council Meeting Notes, Nov 20, 2023.
Agenda County Council Meeting November 20, 2023 (rev2)
Budget Advisor. The council voted to contract with a new budget advisor – Financial Solutions Group (FSG). The meeting was preceded by a 30-minute Q&A followed by a presentation for the public at the start of the meeting. The company offers an improved process for developing and managing our budget and improving collaboration between the council, commissioners, and auditor. Services are to include a 3-year budget, monthly budget meetings, beginning the next year’s budget in January, and tracking the status of desired fund balances. The commissioners were also present at the Q&A session and will also need to vote on selecting a new advisor.
A summary of the state of the county’s budget processes and some key points of the presentation by FSG was provided in a previous post. See Working Session Meeting Notes – Commissioners and Council, Nov 9, 2023
Legal Services. The council will be selecting an attorney to provide legal guidance with the intent to improve operations. Services include a statute review of the specific roles and responsibilities of the council, guidance on improving the quality of meetings, and more specific guidance on the roles and responsibilities of the council president.
Excess Funds. When the county was struggling to identify the needed funding for the courthouse addition and to address other budget shortfalls, the county’s current budget advisor identified that $877,664.82 was available to cover expenses. The funds were incorrectly assigned to the wrong account. A discovery like this was identified by a previous auditor who identified around 700K as incorrectly recorded.
A better process for developing and managing the budget is a critical need. Improved guidance for supporting improvements in council operations is another critical need that may establish the needed foundation for continuous and sustained improvement.
Independent Voters of Brown County IN 