PIKE COUNTY ILLINOIS BOARD FINANCE ISSUES RESURFACE IN CAMPAIGN

PITTSFIELD — Financial oversight and payroll system challenges in Pike County Illinois are resurfacing in the current County Board election after a public post referenced past implementation problems tied to the PayCom payroll system.

Reta Hoskin, a candidate for Pike County Illinois Board, addressed previously shared county bank statements that contained handwritten notes. Hoskin said the notes reflected employee frustration at the time due to inaccurate financial reporting and uncertainty surrounding account balances.

Board Finance Committee minutes from 2021 and early 2022 document concerns during the rollout of the PayCom system. According to those minutes, reports from the county’s accounting system were not considered reliable following implementation issues. Officials discussed delayed payroll reconciliation, postponed training for department heads, and coordination with auditors to correct impacted fund lines.

Minutes from November 2021 also referenced a delayed payment to the Illinois

Municipal Retirement Fund due to uncertainty regarding fund balances. That payment was later addressed to avoid additional interest.

Hoskin stated that challenges following the 2021 implementation were not the fault of the PayCom software itself but instead stemmed from implementation shortcomings.

She said that since becoming chairman, she assigned County Board member Derek Ross to focus on financial oversight and work alongside staff and auditors to identify solutions.

The Finance Committee minutes referenced in her statement are publicly available on the Pike County Illinois website.

The issue is expected to remain part of discussion leading up to the upcoming election.

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