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“How do I know I can trust all these people?” A newly-elected official once asked us that question. He inherited a staff from his electoral opponent, the former office holder. He wanted continuity of operations, so he did not want to fire everyone. He knew, these people from his time on the fiscal body. Basically, he trusted them, but he did not hire them. He did not want any of them to get him into trouble. Here was our advice: Even if you think you know people, you don’t. Besides, public office is a public trust. Your job is not simply to trust people you know, but to put in place sound security systems to safeguard public assets. Think back […]

Written by: Curtis Coonrod [Revised: 2/4/22] It is natural to overlook cumulative funds.  Typically, civil taxing units make no change from year to year, and often no change is needed. However, in some circumstances, cumulative funds can affect the unit’s maximum property tax levy, and there may be ways to find new money. Municipalities and counties are allowed to establish cumulative capital development (CCD) funds.  Generally, these are entirely outside the maximum levy limits, so they represent extra money for the unit.  However, DLGF reviews these annually, and the levies are sometimes reduced by small annual amounts.  After some years, the reductions may become significant.  Municipal and county fiscal officers often overlook these small decreases and fail to take the […]