Sept. 16, 2026
By TIM HUNDT
VIROQUA Wis. – The Vernon County Finance Committee is facing a daunting financial outlook heading into the 2027 budget season after Administrative Coordinator Nate Torres revealed that more than $500,000 in clerical and calculation errors were discovered in the previous year budget worksheets.
During the committee September 15 meeting, Torres presented a painstaking review of the 2026 financial records, explaining that mathematical mistakes made during past budget cycles severely underestimated county expenses and overstated revenues. The revelations come as Vernon County navigates significant administrative turnover. Torres officially assumed his post in June, while Finance Director Annie Lockyer joined the county late last year. Over the past 12 months, county staff have worked to transition all operations away from a legacy 1980s DOS based computer system to a modern countywide financial and payroll software platform through Tyler Technologies.
Torres told supervisors that upon taking office he spent months dissecting past spreadsheets to understand how previous administration calculated the tax levy.
“I have spent a considerable amount of time pulling apart the 2026 budget,” said Torres. “Before we get into 2027, I want to explain what I found out about the 2026 budget because it will have a major impact on how we approach 2027.”
The most significant error uncovered involves the funding for the county new emergency management storage building. Torres discovered that while $360,000 in debt revenue for the building was listed on the county levy calculation worksheet, the corresponding $360,000 construction expense was completely omitted. A similar $40,000 capital expense for Human Services was also omitted from the final roll up.
In addition to the missed capital expenses, Torres uncovered $240,000 in mathematical errors across multiple operating departments. In the County Clerk budget, $103,000 in county farm rental revenue was double counted on the summary sheets. The District Attorney budget double counted $35,000 in revenue, the Treasurer budget included $26,000 in revenue without a matching expense, and the Health Department double counted $6,500 in revenue.
Torres stressed to the committee that the accounting discrepancies were not the result of missing funds or illegal activity.
“It is not fraudulent,” said Torres. “It is just budgeting calculation mistakes where it is like you do your household budget for the month and forgot to put your mortgage in.”
Supervisor Will Beitlich questioned how such substantial omissions could pass through the county review process without being detected earlier.
“Where is our checks and balances there that we would miss that much?” asked Beitlich. “I mean who is checking that?”
Torres responded that fresh scrutiny was required to untangle the historical spreadsheets.
“I am the fresh pair of eyes at this point,” said Torres. “Which is kind of what allows me to see some things that maybe when you are living in them you miss.”
County Clerk Jerry Pedretti noted that as a department head he worked off standard departmental spreadsheets and was unaware the county farm revenue had been added twice on the summary sheet.
“Right,” said Pedretti. “Yeah, I don’t know how that rolls up because I can say as a department head we have our budget spreadsheets that we work from, and then the roll up included the farm revenue.”
Supervisor John Pedretti and Supervisor Kevin Walleser joined the discussion to ask whether capital savings in other departments could offset the structural deficit. Walleser voiced frustration with the ongoing discoveries of unbudgeted costs.
Torres report also brought to light a long standing omission regarding employee healthcare benefits. Torres reported that previous budgets failed to include a line item accounting for $95,000 annually paid to the Neighborhood Family Clinic. Under county policy, employees receive a financial stipend to utilize the clinic for routine healthcare, a measure designed to lower overall health insurance claims and stabilize county insurance premiums.
Torres noted that because the $95,000 clinic cost was previously paid out of general wellness accounts without proper line item budgeting, the draft 2027 budget must absorb a $95,000 increase to accurately reflect the expense.
“When I go through this and find new items, I asked where is the Neighborhood Family Clinic,” said Torres. “Nobody could tell me.”
County Clerk Jerry Pedretti noted that the clinic payment had likely been swallowed up in broad benefit categories over time.
“I just can’t believe we didn’t budget for it at some point,” said Pedretti. “I just wonder if it didn’t get lost in all the shuffle somewhere along the line.”
The committee also examined ongoing discrepancies surrounding the annual gaming revenue received from the Ho-Chunk Nation. Under a state compact, Vernon County receives roughly $1.2 million annually in tribal funds. However, Torres pointed out that operating budget worksheets inherited from past administration listed $1.4 million in Ho-Chunk revenue against $1.2 million in expenses, using an unexplained $200,000 net difference to help balance operating budgets.
Torres advocated for completely separating Ho-Chunk funds from general county operations moving forward to create an uncompromised paper trail.
“Don’t mingle it in the operating budget,” said Torres. “If Ho-Chunk funds were supposed to pay for something, show the transfer out and the transfer in so there is a paper trail to see it all go.”
Beitlich recalled that in previous years leftover tribal funds were placed into dedicated accounts for capital needs.
“Something we did with that Ho-Chunk money years back was when projects didn’t get completed or there was leftover money we had what we called a new building fund,” said Beitlich. “And they were thrown into that.”
The September revelations built upon warnings delivered during the August 18 Finance Committee meeting regarding the county delayed 2025 financial audit. At that August session, Lockyer reported that the audit remained incomplete due to severe cash reconciliation obstacles inherited from prior administration. Lockyer revealed that previous county leadership spent $90,000 in 2024 on external accounting consultants to reconcile bank accounts, but critical bank statements and credit card records were still omitted from central books when new staff took over.
Lockyer explained in August that the auditing firm KerberRose submitted an unsigned draft Tax 16 filing to meet the July 31 state deadline, but the state Department of Revenue issued warnings regarding potential financial penalties and reductions in state aid if official audit filings were not finalized.
Beitlich expressed deep concern during the August discussion regarding the $90,000 spent on outside consultants without resolving the underlying record keeping issues.
Stanek and other supervisors questioned whether the county should hold its auditing firm accountable or seek new representation if deadlines continue to slip.
“They should be responsible for their work,” said Stanek. “They are under contract.”
Hiring outside help
To ensure that historical fund balances are properly configured as the county transitions to its new software system, the Finance Committee voted at its August 18 meeting to hire an outside accounting firm for specialized forensic work.
Finance Director Annie Lockyer presented an engagement letter with Johnson and Block to perform forensic accounting and oversee the transfer of 2024 fund balances into the new Tyler Technologies system. Lockyer explained that the firm, working at a standard rate of $250 an hour, would review complex fund structures and address past accounting discrepancies that her staff lacked the time to untangle.
“I do not really have the bandwidth to go back and do the forensic accounting that I think needs to be done to really make this bulletproof,” said Lockyer. “And so I went and asked Melanie Landowski with Johnson and Block if she could help me with this piece of it.”
Lockyer noted that Landowski, a former auditor for the county, possessed unique familiarity with Vernon County accounts. Finance Committee Chair Kay Stanek welcomed the proactive request.
Supervisor Jerry Pedretti questioned the necessity of the extra expense, pointing out that the county had already paid external auditors to review those same annual figures.
“I am just at a loss,” said Pedretti. “I mean, it has been audited. We paid a third party a lot of money to tell us the numbers were right.”
Administrative Coordinator Nate Torres defended the expenditure as a safeguard against launching the new software platform with flawed baseline numbers.
“I would consider it a soft cost of the Tyler implementation, having a second pair, a subject matter expert have a second pair of eyes and making sure our fund balances across the board are accurate,” said Torres. “Because that is going to be the basis of our entire system.”
Torres added that without a thorough review, uncorrected balance errors would continue to haunt county financial reporting in future years.
Supervisor John Pedretti agreed that expert review made sense but insisted on setting a strict spending cap before authorizing the work.
“We are not going to give you a blank check,” said Pedretti
Lockyer recommended establishing a cap within the existing Tyler implementation budget, estimating that the initial review would take roughly 40 hours.
“I think when we were looking at our budgets, I wanted a not to exceed of $20,000,” said Lockyer.
Supervisor John Pedretti then moved to approve the engagement letter for up to $20,000, contingent on available funds within the software implementation budget, with a second from Supervisor Will Beitlich. The committee approved the motion on a voice vote.
Beitlich voiced hope that the actual accounting bill would come in well below the $20,000 ceiling.
“I am going to just say this,” said Beitlich. “I am hoping it is a hell of a lot less than $20,000.”
Beitlich added that he believed the task could be accomplished for less unless major hidden accounting discrepancies were uncovered during the review.
Vernon County has faced similar fiscal shocks in recent years, including a $2.2 million tax levy error in late 2023 caused by a clerical mistake under former leadership that forced the county board to draw down cash reserves and unallocated Ho-Chunk funds to balance the budget.
Moving forward
Lockyer reminded the committee that relying on one time cash reserves to cover operational deficits is no longer viable.
“These are not one-time gaps,” said Lockyer. “These are gaps that have been happening, and now we are seeing them clearly. We don’t want to use one time resources to fill them.”
Combined with the $583,000 baseline deficit carried over from the 2026 calculation errors, requested departmental budget increases have pushed the preliminary draft 2027 budget to $1.262 million over the state levy limit.
Torres emphasized that administrative staff and committee members must work together in October to identify structural spending cuts.
“We are starting in a hole,” said Torres. “We are already starting this year $583,000 over levy limits, and then you add another $800,000 in expenses, and you are only allowed to add $125,000 in expenses.”
Finance Committee Chair Kay Stanek acknowledged the difficult choices awaiting the board as budget hearings begin.
“We are going to have to have conversations about how we pivot,” said Stanek. “Get this budget year under control to the best ability.”
To resolve the $1.262 million gap, county officials are now following a structured timeline to finalize and adopt the 2027 budget. Throughout September, the administrative coordinator and finance director are holding individual review sessions with department heads to evaluate base operations, after which proposed departmental budgets are presented to home standing committees for preliminary review.
In October, the Finance Committee will review the compiled draft budget, examine potential revenue adjustments, and select necessary spending reductions to bring the county within statutory levy limits. Once the Finance Committee approves a balanced draft, the county will publish the proposed 2027 budget summary in local newspapers in early November, at least 15 days prior to the public hearing.
The process culminates at the regular November meeting of the Vernon County Board of Supervisors, where a formal public hearing will be held to allow resident input. Following the hearing, supervisors will consider amendments and take a final vote to adopt the 2027 tax levy and annual budget, allowing the new spending plan to take effect on January 1.
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