During a brief meeting of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners Monday morning, Jim Schmersahl of Schmersahl Treloar & Co. was approved to conduct auditing services for the county.

An annual audit is required for county finances, including audits of the Monroe County Treasurer’s Office, Circuit Clerk’s Office, federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and county-owned senior living center Oak Hill.

The Fick, Eggemeyer & Williamson accounting firm had conducted county audits recently, but announced last year it would not be performing the 2023 audit. 

Schmersahl noted he is not a stranger to Monroe County finances, pointing out he had once performed prior county audits with the Schorb & Schmersahl firm in Columbia.

“It’s a little odd it terms of timing,” Schmersahl said, referring to the audit process usually being completed before June.

With Schmersahl being approved, he said his goal is to have auditing personnel on site beginning April 8.

Monroe County Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein said the typical date for audit completion is May 31, although there is a 60-day window allowing for more time. 

Schmersahl said the May deadline is “not possible” given the late start, but it “should be no problem” to finish the audit before August to comply with Illinois guidelines.

Monroe County Commissioner Dennis Knobloch said he appreciated Schmersahl agreeing to perform the auditing services on such short notice, expressing faith in Schmersahl’s ability to get the audit done in a timely manner and also noting his expertise in the area.

In other business, commissioners approved a six-month trial period during which Monroe County EMS will not charge a fee for a call for service which results in “no treat, no transport.”

The trial period is retroactive to Feb. 1 of this year in the interest of equal treatment, as some January invoices had already been  mailed, according to Monroe County Ambulance Director Carla Heise.

Heise also presented a revised purchase agreement with Life Line Ambulance for an agreement to re-mount an ambulance on a new chassis.

The re-mount had been approved last year but in the time since, the cost of service has increased.

Since the amount is over $25,000, Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb said the revised agreement would need to be voted on during the next meeting to give commissioners a chance to review the changes.

Also during the meeting, the board voted to accept the resignation of Dennis Rodenberg from the Monroe County Zoning Board of Appeals.

Knobloch commended Rodenberg for his long tenure on the board, saying he had done a “wonderful job, and we will miss him.”

The next meeting of the Monroe County Board is Monday, March 18, at 8:15 a.m. at the Monroe County Courthouse.