What’s this $176,000, anyway?

Written by Bob Balgemann

BELVIDERE – Boone County’s finance, taxation and salaries committee found itself with $176,000 on the books and no one being sure where it came from.

The revelation occurred at the May 8 meeting, near the end of an audit report on the 2011-12 fiscal year, which ended Nov. 30, 2011.

It was pointed out that the money was in the “collections account,” where property tax money is kept. “It’s on the books,” county
Treasurer Curt Newport said. “I don’t know why it’s there.”

He said he didn’t know where it came from, either, adding, “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t just leave it there. I have no plans to do anything with it.”

Committee member Laura Guerin-Hunt thought it probably was the result of “a lot of little mistakes and issues. There are a lot of different ways that it could get into that account.”

She said she thought the money should be divided among the various taxing districts. But that would bring up the question of “how to you determine who gets what?”

Sikich LLC representative Carla Paschal suggested an opinion be sought from State’s Attorney Michelle Courier, as to what should be done with the money.

Meanwhile, Newport said he would continue to report the money to the auditor on a yearly basis “until a judge or the state’s attorney tells me to do something with it.”

The above was taken from the Belvidere Republican’s on line version:  http://www.belvideredailyrepublican.net/news/news-briefs-road-work-means-demise-of-boone-county-family-restaurant/