Commissioners receive FY14 financial audit
<span>CHESTER -- The Randolph County Board of Commissioners received the county's annual financial audit for fiscal year 2014 during their regular meeting on Friday and the numbers show increasing pension costs and a decrease in revenue without corresponding changes in expenses.</span>
<span>"We knew we were going to have a difficult year," said Commissioner and Budget Director David Holder. "There was no doubt about it."</span>
<span>In a presentation by Jim Schmersahl and Steve Tripi, both from the CPA firm Schorb and Schmersahl, LLC, the county's total net position decreased by $1,553,182.</span>
<span>Total county revenues were shown as $16,223,306, an increase of $297,000 from fiscal year 2013, but still down from around $17,419,000 in 2011.</span>
<span>"As long as revenues of the county continue to lag, it becomes a mathematical impossibility to maintain the level of services," Schmersahl said.</span>
<span>Total expenses were $17,785,084, an increase of $553,000 from 2013.</span>
<span>"There is still sufficient working capital to meet the needs of the county, but that is deteriorating rapidly," Schmersahl said.</span>
<span>Holder asked Schmersahl if the county had made enough cuts to avoid being in its current financial position one year from now.</span>
<span>Holder told the assembled media after the meeting that 16 county employees have been cut in the past three years for financial reasons and two have moved from full time to part-time employment.</span>
<span>"I don't think you're done making cuts," Schmersahl told the commissioners during the meeting. "Unless the revenues turn around."</span>
<span>Schmersahl also pointed to the county's cash flow, which showed a negative net change of $517,729 compared to fiscal year 2013, which had a positive balance of $517,000.</span>
<span>In 2012, numbers showed a positive balance of $807,000.</span>
<span>"The county cash flow is a negative number for the first time," Schmersahl said.</span>
<span>Schmersahl also highlighted retirement costs through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. In 2013, annual pension costs were nearly $760,000, compared to $45,699 in 2007.</span>
<span>"That's the kind of astronomical increase in IMRF the county has had to deal with in the last few years," Schmersahl said.</span>
<span>Value in IMRF assets, meanwhile has decreased from roughly $14.9 million in 2007 to $13.3 million in 2013. Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (UAAL) showed a $350,000 surplus in 2007, but now has a $4.8 million deficit.</span>
<span>"The county has never recovered from the loss of value of those assets," Schmersahl said. "The liability of employees continues to grow."</span>
<span>Schmersahl and the commissioners also spent significant time discussing the costs of the Randolph County Care Center, which showed more than $4.44 million in expenses in 2014, increasing from $4.18 million in 2013.</span>
<span>Included in the expenses are write-offs of bad debt.</span>
<span>"Collections are a nightmare," said Randolph County Care Center Administrator Ken Slavens, who attended the meeting. "They fight you every inch of the way to pay. It is a full-time job."</span>
<span>Slavens also mentioned costs for medical supplies were increasing, as well as salaries for registered nurses.</span>
<span>"RNs are in high demand and they're not cheap," he said.</span>
<span>The 78-page report was for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2014. After the meeting, Holder said he still anticipates a balanced budget for the general fund for the current fiscal year, as long as anticipated revenues hold up.</span>
<span>Holder and Schmersahl arranged to meet in June to look at the county's financial picture through May.</span>
<span>"I'd like to do a mini-budget review and make some decisions based on that," Holder said.</span>