Finance & Audit - Public Meeting, 11-5-26

The McHenry County Finance & Audit Committee met November 5, 2026. The committee unanimously approved a resolution for tire purchases exceeding the county’s $30,000 procurement threshold, funded in the proposed FY2027 budget and covering both the Sheriff’s Office and DOT. It also unanimously approved items 7.25–7.27 for parts for the county’s plow trucks; staff described routine seasonal needs for roughly 30 trucks, but the transcript does not clearly establish the total amounts or vendors. Item 7.8, a resolution reaffirming the 2008 policy that RTA sales-tax revenue be used for transportation, failed on a 1–5 vote and was to go to the county board as new and unfinished business. Discussion centered on whether the policy should allow or limit use of those funds for public safety; no change was adopted by the committee. Item 7.9 passed, but its subject is not identifiable in the transcript.

Staff reported that a little over $5 million in ARPA funds remained to be spent, with major remaining costs including about $1 million for 400 Russell Court, salaries, and public-safety Axon cameras. Final invoices were requested for the first week of December, and staff planned to bring a resolution to the December finance meeting to reallocate project underspending; additional closeout action may be needed later. A roughly $70,000 purchasing-suite renovation was underway, with design and material orders progressing toward the December 31 spending deadline; the courthouse fire-suppression project was also discussed as time-sensitive. The committee took no procurement action on the EDC’s consideration of hiring staff or outsourcing work, which remains under financial review and is affected by uncertainty around the county’s MCEDC contract.