Meeting Summary and Briefs: Montgomery County Board Finance & Budget Committee for July 9, 2026

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

The Montgomery County Board Finance & Budget Committee met for just over two hours on Thursday, July 9, 2026 — the longest of the county’s five committee meetings this cycle — in the County Board Room on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse in Hillsboro. Five of seven members attended: Rob Corso, Chris Daniels, Dr. Patty Whitworth, Evan Young and Chair Connie Beck, who led the pledge. Chad Ruppert and Board Chairman Doug Donaldson were absent.

The room was full. County Board Administrator Mike Plunkett, County Clerk Sandy Leitheiser, Treasurer Nikki Lohman, Maintenance Director Phil Ernst, Animal Control Warden Tricia Papin, Undersheriff Jeff Roach, Chief Deputy Lance Weitekamp and MCEDC Executive Director Kaitlyn Fath attended, along with Robyn Klingler and Hope Peters of Scheffel Boyle and Brian Redman, Dave Beal and Walt Tarran of the Hazmat team. There were no public comments.

The county’s auditors gave it the cleanest opinion they can give while flagging three findings; the coal fund reports showed $10.8 million and three unexplained discrepancies; the hazmat team asked for $40,000 and left with a question to go answer; and the committee rejected a $22,000 payment another committee had approved on Monday. All are covered in separate stories, as are the county’s $151,075 solar tax credit refund and the cost-of-living adjustment that lifted three county salaries on July 1.

Nokomis Agreement With Sheriff’s Office Still in Rough Draft

Undersheriff Jeff Roach reported that an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Nokomis is pending in rough draft form. That is the entirety of the record. The minutes do not say what the agreement would do, who is drafting it, when it might come to the board, or what either party would give or get. Roach appeared alongside Chief Deputy Lance Weitekamp; Sheriff Tyson Holshouser did not attend. No motion was made.

Tax Sale Overhaul Waits on Springfield

Treasurer Nikki Lohman reported that a resolution to change the tax sale and tax deed process will be required when legislation becomes law. The minutes do not identify the bill, its number, its sponsor, its status, or what it would change. The item has been carried on the county’s agenda for weeks in substantially this form. No motion was made.

Election Judges Head to the Board

County Clerk Sandy Leitheiser reported the County Board will be asked to commission election judges. The handouts contain two party lists — 88 names submitted by the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and 107 by the Republican side — along with a state form recording that the board will act at its July 14 meeting. This newspaper is not publishing the names. The lists carry each person’s full date of birth and home address, and the judges are private citizens.

SOA Report Reviewed

The committee reviewed and discussed the SOA office report. That is the complete entry. The report is not among the handouts, SOA is not expanded anywhere in the county’s record, and no motion was made.