AUDITOR ISSUES NEW FINANCIAL REPORT

DU PAGE COUNTY - DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan has issued the Quarterly Financial Report for the County’s most recent fiscal year.  The report, which is a statutory duty of the Office, is the first released under Grogan’s administration and is a complete departure from prior reports issued by the Auditor’s office.

“The reports issued in the past averaged 120 pages, and while they contained a great deal of information, may have overwhelmed the reader with detail, most of which was available from other County sources.  An element of transparency is to make information usable as well as available.  This is one of those instances when less is more”, said Grogan.  “The new report is two pages long and provides a concise accounting of the funds received and disbursed by the County”.

Grogan noted several benefits to the new reporting format.  The report will be issued on a timelier basis; it is more comprehensive and provides cash balance information for the first time; and, in keeping with the County’s ‘green initiative’ towards a healthier environment, significantly reduces the amount of paper used to produce and distribute the report.  The County Auditor said, “A major benefit of the new report format is the savings of staff time will allow for more audits to be performed with no additional cost to the taxpayer.”

Highlights of the Auditor’s report indicate that during 2008, the County’s main operating fund reported $153 million in revenue, compared to $132.2 million in expenditures.  Over half of this revenue originated from sales taxes and property taxes.  Grogan stated, “The RTA Funding Act passed by the legislature authorized an additional quarter-cent sales tax in 2008.  During the five months that the tax was collected, the County received $18.1 million in new revenue.”  On the expenditure side, the report identified the top categories as personnel-related expenditures for the County Sheriff and Convalescent Center, at $33.5 million and $21.9 million, respectively.

The report is available on the County Auditor’s internet website at www.dupageco.org/auditor.