[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6192531,"mediaKeyId","4084580-7dd2f2068c70ec6fafc59fb344335261","parentId",4084580,"title","External auditors give Walworth County a clean opinion; fund balance and cash position highlighted","audioSeconds",770,"startMs",1438000,"endMs",2208000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=4084580-7dd2f2068c70ec6fafc59fb344335261&start=1438&end=2208","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/4084580-7dd2f2068c70ec6fafc59fb344335261/thumbnail_1438000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6192531/Walworth-County/Wisconsin/External-auditors-give-Walworth-County-a-clean-opinion-fund-balance-and-cash-position-highlighted","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6192531-6c63ade4c3b62ff4e22ae7699588c0d6/orig.mp4?Expires=1770553906&Signature=U52oRLHrJcIRj37ips9wSPYrHEm1-a-svPg93XE8EHoCyQq~rW-RlXRtEi9L2VqypczNnQNbzvxc4PfgqlIpOnLIX3v5bTc3GxWD6-Qi8nGpz09Q19cB9xYDQpJ4dk81jA1O9c2DJiJRwBdtzX3lq42FKChDvjzA6c6WXjZoD6dP9LBnuAq78LDSh6uD~7Qz6nVvtZmCSMvDYI2gCA-4Y~JaIgQTYb594knRxahapJugqw~FidGVaZSke-U8g39eXymmCi5cujAB58oAbNvYJnhdtCZbAvU7XtU9r-L1QmEdE7kFhdjGpj5TaQvRY4MsLf7TqGKxAzOMYCLM-XsloQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","WI / Walworth County ","date","2025-06-19T00:00:00Z","article","Justin Hoagland, principal at Baker Tilly US LLP, told the Finance Committee on Thursday that the county's fiscal year 2024 financial statements earned an unmodified (clean) opinion and that auditors recorded zero audit entries during the engagement.

\"We did issue your 2024 reports back on May 23... We had zero audit entries again this year,\" Hoagland said. He added the county also had no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control.

Hoagland reviewed financial highlights: the county has no outstanding debt, which he described as uncommon among municipalities his firm audits, and the general fund's unassigned fund balance equates to about 42% of annual budgeted expenditures — approximately five months of operating coverage. \"That calculates up to 42% or about five months. We always like to see at least two months as the minimum,\" he said.

Hoagland also noted a restatement related to implementation of GASB 101 concerning compensated absences; the restatement adjusted beginning balances but was not the result of an error.

On revenue and expenditure performance, the auditors reported the county's general fund results exceeded budgetary expectations, with better-than-budget revenues driven by higher investment income and sales tax receipts and expenditures under budget in several functions. Hoagland said the county's net income was strongly positive for 2024 and that the county's financial controls and centralized accounting practices support reliable monthly budget reporting.

Hoagland pointed to three industry trends for local governments — grant funding pursuit, digital transformation and cybersecurity — and encouraged the county to consider those in planning. He also said the firm was in the process of completing the county's single audit of federal and state grants and had found no noncompliance so far.

No committee action was required on the audit presentation.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Walworth County Finance Committee - June 19, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Baker Tilly presented the county's 2024 financial audit to the Finance Committee, issuing an unmodified (clean) opinion, noting zero audit entries and no material weaknesses, and highlighting a general fund unassigned balance equal to about 42% of annual budget (roughly five months of expenditures).","taxTitle","Walworth County, Wisconsin","taxId",54224,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6192536,"Walworth County creates capital projects and transit funds, approves reserve transfers and orders tighter fund-balance controls",580,996000,1576000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=4084580-7dd2f2068c70ec6fafc59fb344335261&start=996&end=1576","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/4084580-7dd2f2068c70ec6fafc59fb344335261/thumbnail_996000.jpg","/articles/6192536/Walworth-County/Wisconsin/Walworth-County-creates-capital-projects-and-transit-funds-approves-reserve-transfers-and-orders-tighter-fund-balance-controls","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6192536-7c7f36cf8f4f1188f9155428ac56d4af/orig.mp4?Expires=1770553906&Signature=RdNalfFzR~mMPVT-WFMtbyyoqfhkEYqq6ruejhefilWgbgCz1zxyMT2p9iu~anRy2CguULDnMoh5N2E~Lo0UwtoE0GrRZOf-JwjVGwAROCJAybH93Anr~ua67ZS9yHm02rz96Mp8s3sZLRCQgFqMKf-PCoVLlHeBbLFpSKRYzX6BX7UJhosgl1Lxc8XS49GFxXfcPxb8GPO5Gy7KAXDhyBuZdBw4lGViCES0PQwwIEyJVGkhdeMHIjzujCrAF8sbKCcE47YMjM946wOkJ6c2V8Pu9D3uEpVjNb0BfbmbZkAVe7dW8AsqsrmJzLRrm7Mre00JXijZ7SbIwveL3AMrMg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Walworth County's Finance Committee on Thursday approved multiple ordinance and resolution changes to reorganize capital reserves, create a transit fund and begin tightening controls and transparency over the use of fund balance and related revenues.

The committee adopted Ordinance 7-25 and Resolution 7-25, which transfer building and equipment reserves and park reserves into the capital projects fund and establish a committed reserve for the county's five-year capital improvement plan. \"We're transferring over the building and equipment reserves and the park reserves over to the capital projects fund,\" a finance staff member explained during the presentation.

Under the new presentation, staff said the $7,900,000 previously labeled as building and equipment reserves would be shown instead as $3,700,000 set aside for the five-year capital plan and $4,200,000 available for other capital improvements. The finance staff member said the change is a presentation reform — \"It's not a new fund. It's just a new way of presenting all of those funding sources.\" The ordinance also renames the building and equipment reserve to a \"capital improvement reserve\" to broaden allowable uses beyond buildings and equipment.

The committee also approved an ordinance and resolution to establish a transit fund. Staff said the transit fund name better aligns with grant names and that activity would be shown retroactive to the beginning of 2025 to allow a full-year view for financial statements. \"By naming this fund transit, it's a little more specific... keeping our capital projects will remain in this fund similar to how the CDEP fund works,\" a finance staff member said.

Separately, the committee directed staff to draft ordinance language and administrative changes to tighten controls over the use of fund balance. The proposal would divide fund balance into \"elective\" reserves (for planned capital and stabilization) and \"non-elective\" reserves (for accounting-driven items such as encumbrances, donor restrictions and post-employment liabilities). Finance staff described one possible change: requiring a two-thirds majority of the County Board for use of fund balance in many cases while creating project contingency budgets in the annual budget to preserve limited flexibility at the department level.

Finance staff also recommended increased reporting and transparency for \"related revenue\" budget amendments — those that increase both revenue and expense (for example, a grant award larger than anticipated). In 2024, staff reported, the county processed 70 administrator-level related-revenue budget amendments totaling about $328,000 and 23 Finance Committee–level amendments totaling almost $1,960,000. The committee voted to require quarterly reporting of related-revenue amendments to the Finance Committee.

Votes and next steps: The committee approved the ordinances and resolutions as presented. Members also passed a motion directing staff to draft the detailed ordinance and workflow changes and to return with proposed language; staff said they will try to have drafts for review in July but that ordinance text might not be ready until September. The committee also voted to receive quarterly reports on related-revenue budget amendments going forward.","The Finance Committee advanced ordinances and resolutions to move capital reserves into a capital projects fund, establish a transit fund, and directed staff to draft tighter rules on using fund balance and to begin quarterly reporting of related revenue budget amendments.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6192541,"Walworth County sheriff projects up to $1.5 million overtime shortfall; staff say hires underway",188,320000,508000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=4084580-7dd2f2068c70ec6fafc59fb344335261&start=320&end=508","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/4084580-7dd2f2068c70ec6fafc59fb344335261/thumbnail_320000.jpg","/articles/6192541/Walworth-County/Wisconsin/Walworth-County-sheriff-projects-up-to-15-million-overtime-shortfall-staff-say-hires-underway","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6192541-aa0d45a42d4ad79108cb396114f6177a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770553906&Signature=BoKNjusB052~2BkLiG~tRkpNBV4bJFeft7G2k8PYeiLzE8aLOV59AycZhxDKdyBJeS97EsU4cipPFnyBANcsrR5crdBVNF6Q8ABdaLlqa5YenFNvuhKMtDE7ZK6TkPYPeI5ew8iTdf6I1wN9eL5sqUNivuW301H6vh69PzOCGtGzWtZ1rGXkwzVes~gx0M3xSv1CxG5lxrQawoDdSNWiPkNqAHeADJC-4rPVp2Qgxuxs6Q1J1NABO4pnC2CMKnMjo29I7nAyFzZKbz5u9nnz6GcWa-kM28gkAq~Vv-NBBce1uxDRlvR3ctgIu~r5FAPO7Li5v9FJtEQj2Y3Qn4g9Vg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Walworth County staff told the Finance Committee on Thursday that the sheriff's office is projecting a possible $1,500,000 overtime shortfall for 2025 and will likely ask the County Board to use vacancy savings to cover part of the cost.

The notice to the committee came during an update on the sheriff's overtime budget. \"Right now, if we had to say how much do we need, it's $1,500,000. But we wanted one more month to get a little bit closer and feel better about those numbers,\" said a Sheriff's Office representative during the meeting.

The announcement was presented as an informational item rather than a formal action. Committee members asked about staffing and hiring plans. Human resources and department staff said they are actively recruiting and scheduling background checks. \"Human resources anticipates for July: three hires for communications, two for corrections, and three for patrol,\" a staff member said.

A sheriff's office representative described recent hiring activity: \"On Monday, we swore in a new deputy who was a lateral transfer. We swore in two correctional officers, and we have more scheduled, following this.\" Committee members and staff also said the department has recorded several recent departures, including one corrections officer who left for another agency and a patrol captain retiring July 1.

Committee members pressed whether the department expects those hires to reduce overtime. A sheriff's office representative said filling vacancies will affect overtime levels but emphasized uncertainty: \"That, of course, will also determine how much overtime then they believe they'll have for the rest of the year.\" The committee was told the department is working with HR and that some candidates have passed suitability testing and are undergoing background checks.

The sheriff's office also discussed implementation of new records/reporting software from Axon. A sheriff's office representative said the department intends to implement the software as soon as it is approved and staff trained, adding they were \"hoping to have it... before the first of the year.\" A member of the committee noted the contract paperwork had arrived and was being routed.

Next steps: staff said they will collect one more month of data before bringing a formal resolution to the committee and County Board to authorize use of vacancy savings for communications, corrections and patrol overtime. No formal appropriation was made at Thursday's meeting.","County staff notified the Finance Committee that the sheriff's office may need up to $1.5 million in additional funding for overtime this year because of vacancies; officials said they expect new hires in July and will return with a refined request next month.","actionData","errors"]

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External auditors give Walworth County a clean opinion; fund balance and cash position highlighted

Walworth County creates capital projects and transit funds, approves reserve transfers and orders tighter fund-balance controls

Walworth County sheriff projects up to $1.5 million overtime shortfall; staff say hires underway