Shelbyville Township – Financial reporting not adding up

Shelby Co. (ECWd) –

While reviewing the financial reporting to the Illinois State Comptroller for Shelbyville Township, some serious discrepancies have been identified.  I briefly referenced those discrepancies during the last meeting which can be viewed from the video in this article.

For the purpose of this article, we are only going to look at the General Assistance (Public Aid) reporting for the last three years.  There are two reports being compared.  The first is the Supervisors Annual Report and the non-election year reporting to the Comptroller.  The 2014 reporting is the only year in the last three that matches the reporting given to the residents in the Supervisors Annual Financial Reporting.

Supervisors Financial Reporting

• 2016 General Assistance Expenditures – $40,302.00
• 2015 General Assistance Expenditures – $48,865.28
• 2014 General Assistance Expenditures – $40,708.00

Reporting to the Illinois Comptroller (Welfare is the column for Generals Assistance)

• 2016 Welfare – $00.00
• 2015 Welfare – $26,407.00
• 2014 Welfare – $40,708.00

It should be noted that Township Government with less than $850,000.00 in revenue are only required to have their books audited by a CPA after each election.  The audit committee is to provide an audit within 6 months of the close of each fiscal year.  With a $40,302.00 error in 2016 and a $22,458.58 difference in reporting in 2015, it’s safe to question how such an error is not noticed.

(60 ILCS 1/80-10)
    Sec. 80-10. Board meetings; township and road district accounts.
    (a) The township board shall meet at the township clerk’s office for the purpose of examining and auditing the township and road district accounts before any bills (other than general assistance, obligations for Social Security taxes as required by the Social Security Enabling Act, and wages that are subject to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, or other expenses determined by the township board by resolution) are paid, provided that payments made pursuant to a board resolution shall be reviewed and verified at the next meeting. The board may meet at other times as they determine. The township board may consider and approve bills individually or in a summary statement of any number of bills.

It is the above discrepancies that I was referring to during the March meeting that I encouraged the board to look into in hopes that such discrepancies can be identified and corrected.

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