Marlboro Countys finance director, West Parks, told the council the countys general fund revenues for the five months ending Nov. 30, 2025, were reported as $4,000,001.85, up from $3,777,522 during the same five‑month period in 2024. He said general fund expenditures for that period totaled $6,702,160 of a $16,492,895 budget (about 40.6% year to date), and concluded overall operations looked "favorable at this juncture of the year."

Council members questioned specific expenditures and accounting lines. One member asked about a roughly $61,000 charge in the council budget for September; Parks said the county had issued a partial payment to the audit firm (about $50,000) and that some one‑time payments occur early in the fiscal year. "One of the things that's significant, we did issue a partial payment to the audit firm," Parks said.

Members also raised concerns about Fund 38 charges in November related to grass cutting; one council member flagged charges of $1,400 and $11.12 occurring within five days and asked whether the contracted vendor or county crews should have performed the work. Parks said the charges likely related to the county's spec building and said he would investigate and report back.

On delinquent tax sale revenue, a council member expected a larger figure (citing $1.4 million) but saw smaller posted revenues in the report; Parks explained that posted revenue reflects amounts posted to the ledger and does not necessarily equal total collections, which may still be held until property owners redeem.

The council asked the finance committee and staff to review the audit report prior to the full council meeting. Parks said the audit engagement includes periodic payments and that staff planned to present the audit report at the next council meeting.

Numbers and transcription notes: the meeting transcript includes one line that reads as an unusually large figure for expenditures ($600,070,715,000) that appears inconsistent with other budget numbers in the report; that figure is likely a transcription error in the record and is flagged for verification with county finance staff.

Whats next: council requested follow‑up from finance staff (clarifying one‑time payments, Fund 38 charges, and the delinquent tax sale accounting) and asked the finance committee to preview the audit report before the full council receives it.