Finance committee awards three‑year MAC contract, clears bills and sets vendor and budget calendar

The LaSalle County Finance and TIF Committee voted June 9 to accept a three‑year contract with MAC for auditing and related services and approved routine bills after adjusting for a CASA payment pending reconciliation.

The MAC contract was presented with year‑one cost of $75,000, year two $77,250 and year three $79,500; contract extras listed included SEFA work (~$5,000) and circuit‑clerk‑related charges (first year $6,500, escalating in years two and three), and a $150 hourly rate for out‑of‑scope work. Doug Frager moved to accept the MAC contract and Arita Zaneki seconded; the motion carried on a voice vote. Committee members instructed staff to route the signed contract for execution.

Members then approved the bills after removing the CASA $39,500 line from the bills list while staff reconcile that payment with the auditor’s office. Tom Templeton moved to approve the bills, seconded by Gary Small; the motion carried on a voice vote. The committee also moved to place Stephanie’s second‑quarter TIF report on file (motion by Gary Small, second by Steve Aubrey) and approved the auditor’s bills (motion by Tom Templeton, second by Craig EMTT).

Beyond votes, the committee set an annual operational cadence: process outside‑vendor transfers annually on July 1 to improve the paper trail; distribute budget request forms on or about June 1; and begin finance committee budget hearings in August, with departments expected to take requests to their committees in July. The changes are intended to reduce last‑minute requests and mid‑year, ad‑hoc pay increases that complicate the county budget.

Next steps: staff will circulate the signed MAC contract for execution and follow up on the CASA billing discrepancy; the committee expects to adopt a written rule or policy if recommended by county legal/rules staff.