Madison County auditor raises conflict concerns, cites state audit anomalies and forensic review

Madison County Auditor Michelle Brandt told the Board of Supervisors that the state auditor continues to find anomalies in the county's fiscal-year 2024 records and that she has forwarded questions and audio recordings to the Division of Criminal Investigation and state investigators for review. "They continue to find anomalies and concerns being re re re brought up by public directly to their office," Brandt said during her department report.

Brandt flagged two resolutions on the evening's agenda that would place human resources and information technology under the auditor's authority and told supervisors she believed those supervisors had conflicts that should preclude them from discussing or voting on the items. "Therefore, you cannot discuss nor take action on either of these resolutions listed on the agenda," Brandt said, urging the board to consider recusal where appropriate.

She criticized the RFPs for human resources and custodial services as incomplete, saying they omitted more than 10 specific reports and duties previously handled by county HR staff. "I wondered if, you guys realized you missed over 10 specific reports handled by Kelly on behalf of the HR department. They were not listed or itemized on that RFP," Brandt said, adding that some long-standing duties are at risk if services are outsourced.

Brandt also described steps she said she has taken to document and escalate problems: she has asked for a state-auditor team meeting, said she can trace recent payroll changes to specific users, and indicated a forensic review has been initiated. She asked the board to treat the matters seriously and to avoid acting on items that would affect departments under her office until conflicts are clarified.

Board responses during the meeting focused on procedure: members discussed timing, confirmed legal counsel had reviewed the RFP language, and noted that some decisions (such as whether to solicit bids) were for information gathering rather than final determination. No formal votes to delay the HR RFP were recorded beyond the board's routine motion to authorize solicitation later in the meeting.

The next procedural step the auditor described was cooperation with the state auditor's office and responding to any follow-up from DCI investigators; she said she would circulate email updates and additional documentation to supervisors as it becomes available.