Auditors Give County ‘Cleanest Opinion’ While Flagging Overspent Lines, Outside Bookkeeping

Montgomery County Board Finance & Budget Committee Meeting | July 9, 2026

Article Summary: Robyn Klingler of Scheffel Boyle told the Montgomery County Board Finance & Budget Committee on Thursday, July 9, 2026, that the county’s audit produced “the cleanest opinion we can give,” and reported a positive $1.5 million change in position from the previous fiscal year — including $900,000 in Coal Fund 375. The audit’s findings included expenses exceeding budgeted amounts in some lines and the fact that the county does not prepare its own financial statements.

Audit Presentation Key Points:

• Klingler described the process and procedures used for the audit, noting “the cleanest opinion we can give.”
• The audit noted a positive $1.5 million change in position from the previous fiscal year, including $900,000 in Coal Fund 375.
• Findings included expenses exceeding budgeted amounts in some lines, the county not preparing its own financials, and timing of when federal ARPA grant funds were expensed.
• No motion was made and no vote was taken; the minutes do not state which fiscal year the audit covers.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The best thing an auditor can say about a set of books, Montgomery County heard on Thursday morning, is that there is nothing to say about them.

Robyn Klingler of Scheffel Boyle in Alton described the process and procedures used for the audit to the County Board Finance & Budget Committee on Thursday, July 9, 2026, noting “the cleanest opinion we can give,” according to the minutes. It is the only sentence in five sets of Montgomery County committee minutes this month that puts a speaker’s words inside quotation marks.

The audit noted a positive $1.5 million change in position from the previous fiscal year, including $900,000 in Coal Fund 375.

Klingler attended with Hope Peters, also of Scheffel Boyle. The firm has offices across the metro-east and central Illinois.

Three Findings

An opinion and a finding are different things, and the minutes record three of the latter.

The first is that expenses exceeded budgeted amounts in some lines. The minutes do not say which lines, by how much, or in which departments.

The second is that the county does not prepare its own financials. That is a statement about who does the work rather than about whether the numbers are right — and the minutes offer no elaboration on who does prepare them, or what the auditors think the county should do about it.

The third concerns timing: when federal ARPA grant funds were expensed. ARPA is not expanded anywhere in the county’s record. The minutes do not say whether the timing was early, late, or merely different from what the auditors expected, and do not put a figure on it.

What Is Not in the Record

The minutes do not state which fiscal year the audit covers. They do not name the report, give its date, or say whether the committee received a written document — none is among the handouts. There is no management letter, no financial statement and no schedule of findings in the packet.

Nor do the minutes record what anyone on the committee said in response. Five members attended: Rob Corso, Chris Daniels, Dr. Patty Whitworth, Evan Young and Chair Connie Beck. Chad Ruppert and Board Chairman Doug Donaldson were absent.

The item was titled “Audit Presentation Update/Approval.” No motion was made, no vote was taken, and the audit was not accepted, adopted or received by any recorded action. The committee is a recommending body; an audit would go to the full County Board.