Page 1
Northumberland County
Joint Finance Committee Meeting
Thursday, June 4, 2026 - 5:00 p.m.
General District Courtroom- 220 Judicial Pl., Heathsville
Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of the Northumberland County Joint Finance Committee is to continue to build trust and accountability between the Board of Supervisors and the School Board with regard to County and school division finances and to identify strategic issues and opportunities that drive effectiveness and efficiency in and across the administration of the County and its School Division.
Co-Chair John Kost called the Joint Finance Committee meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in the General District Courtroom located at 220 Judicial Place, Heathsville, VA 22473.
1. Review and Approval of Minutes from 3/5/2026
Motion to approve the minutes from the Joint Finance Committee meeting on April 23, 2026.
Motion by: James W. Brann, second by: Chip Williams.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: James W. Brann, Chip Williams, John Kost, Dave Curran
2. Finance risks and mitigation strategies – lessons learned
a. Temps?
Co-Chair John Kost brought awareness to the changes in the Finance Department, opening discussion on what needs to be done and to identify what priorities are the most important for the finance officer to focus on. He believed that the former Finance Director was spending a lot of time on other items that needed more support rather than from her. He asked if the County/School has identified additional assistance needed in the organization to ensure that the Finance Director can work on their appropriate tasks.
County Administrator Tadlock explained that the County is seeking an interim Director of Finance but also seeking administrative support from the same firm to help with some of the backlog work at the school.
Mr. Kost asked if staff has created a list of additional administrative items for the firm to perform.
Page 2
Mr. Tadlock stated that they are still working to identify the initial parts of that. He explained that they’ve had initial discussions with the firm, but they are working on finalizing that list with the group.
Finance Facilitator Karen Pica informed the group that they have some pretty significant risks to get through the end of the year. She stated that she doesn’t know the status of the County audit, reconciliation needs to be done, and she’s identified problems with what’s being booked. She explained they have to do a full reconciliation with all the revenue and some of the expenditures before the annual school report next year. Dr. Pica stated the initial contract for the firm identifies the support given, but they make it very clear that they will not be making decisions/determinations on anything. She wondered where the County was in identifying who the person is going to be that’s going to be giving that firm direction.
Dr. Dave Curran doesn’t believe the job is distinctively defined and what the role and responsibilities are for the Director of Finance position. Dr. Curran explained there’s no liaison with the Virginia Department of Education at any level that has established what the requirements are. He stated they will not be successful until they define the role properly.
Dr. Pica agreed that they need to figure out what the key fiscal responsibilities are for the County Finance Director with respect to VDOE.
Dr. Leslie also agreed and stated that she can identify the gaps there, but there needs to be a position that serves as the liaison between the schools and the Finance Department.
Dr. Dave Curran suggested both Boards meet together to discuss the finances over the last year and to clearly identify those responsibilities.
Mr. Kost asked Dr. Leslie if there was a position that interplayed with the state and those responsibilities when Dr. Wargo was Superintendent.
Dr. Leslie stated that there was. It was the Finance Director who handled all reporting.
Mr. Brann asked if the group of individuals coming to support the County would have a school finance background.
County Administrator Tadlock stated that they are currently identifying
individuals for the job, but they may or may not have a school finance
background.
Dr. Curran asked what criteria they’re using to identify their people.
Page 3
Mr. Tadlock stated that they requested a copy of the Director of Finance job description.
Dr. Curran doesn’t believe that the job description is complete, so Mr. Williams asked what needs to happen to better identify the roles and responsibilities. Dr. Curran suggested they all sit down and define what the role is.
Mr. John Kost asked if this should be a separate position at the school to take care of the VDOE reports and be a liaison in that matter.
Dr. Leslie stated that she doesn’t believe it needs to be a full-time position, but she does believe it’s important to have a liaison of some sort.
Finance Facilitator Pica stated that a Finance Manager is needed at the school, which she plans to recommend to the Board in the FY28 budget. She agreed with Dr. Curran that a group of people who know what they’re doing need to sit down and discuss what’s needed to define the role of Director of Finance in full. A select group of the committee scheduled a meeting next week to discuss the Director of Finance role and responsibilities.
b. Changes in processes?
st
Dr. Pica explained that effective July 1 , they are moving the County out of the operational business and into the oversight business. They are going to put the responsibility for managing the finances with each division director/principal so there will be workflows and lots of checks and balances every month. In addition, if people go over their budget, they’ll have to sit on a board of their peers and ask for money. So, if someone overspends, someone else has to give up their money in the school system and once that is done, then they’ll come to the Board requesting a transfer.
Mr. Kost asked Dr. Leslie what is being done differently, if anything, related to the people who will execute these processes in terms of their accountability. Dr. Leslie explained that they have all received a copy of this and everything they are doing is being done as a team. They are given expectations to follow, and they will follow them or it will be handled accordingly.
Dr. Pica stated these changes will allow them to focus on more of the risk areas like reconciliation. She stated that she isn’t closing the fiscal year until that is done.
Dr. Curran asked about fiscal year 2025.
Page 4
Dr. Pica stated that FY25 isn’t closed either. She assumed that it would be closed when the audit comes back.
Due to timing constraints, discussion continued on to agenda item number 6 in relation to the County financial audit for 2027.
c. Changes in cooperation?
3. Transparency in county budgeting – discussion on improving transparency in FY28 budget process
4. School Nutrition program review
5. Any remaining issues for FY27 County and School Division budgets or further lessons learned?
6. County financial audit for 2027 or beyond – status and next steps
Mr. Tadlock referenced last meeting’s discussion and stated if the Board would like to go out for bid or RFPs, he would just need Board direction to do so for FY27. Mr. Kost asked what time of year that would need to occur.
Mr. Tadlock explained that is typically considered in the fall.
Dr. Pica stated that she believed the bid would need to go out in September so it can be awarded by December.
7. Modernizing multiple county financial systems and processes
8. School Nutrition Program Review (added into discussion)
Dr. Pica stated that she hasn’t had time to look into school nutrition in detail as she’s been preoccupied with other tasks, however, she has been working with the nutrition program manager and there are some anomalies in the data. She explained that she will not be coming to the Board of Supervisors asking for any financial carry over in the Nutrition program in July. She stated she will not be doing that until the audit for FY26 is completed. She stated that even though they aren’t doing a full review of the program at this time due to low capacity, she is trying to keep up with the financials and she’s found major discrepancies. Dr. Pica stated that she’s run reports going back five years and cannot replicate the carry over amount, so she believes the only money the County will operate on this year will be incoming revenue.
Mr. Williams asked Dr. Pica whose job it would be to make sense of these irregularities that she’s speaking of if she was not here.
Dr. Pica stated oversight would primarily fall under the nutrition manager to make sure things are balanced with the County. The second would be the Finance Director for the school and then the third she believes would be the County Administrator.
Page 5
Dr. Curran believes that since the MOU was signed the School Board isn’t in a position to approve the nutrition budget and it should go to the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Brann asked why the nutrition budget wasn’t included in the overall School Board budget.
Dr. Leslie stated in the past it has been done as one entity, but when they completed the other parts of the school budget to present to the Board, the nutrition budget was not in shape to be presented for approval. She explained that Virginia code states the School Board can vote to not include that particular budget with other pieces of the budget. Dr. Leslie stated the nutrition budget was prepared, but it was vetoed by herself and Dr. Pica prior to having it presented to anyone higher than them.
Dr. Pica stated that she’s proposing that the Board only approve what the estimated revenue is and nothing more.
Dr. Curran stated that he doesn’t know where the Board is going to fall on this subject and he honestly believes that it’s not the school board’s responsibility to budget the nutrition budget. He stated there are a lot of issues with it and they need to be addressed. Mr. Brann suggested adding this topic to their meeting next Tuesday.
Dr. Pica explained that she’s under the impression that the Board of Supervisors doesn’t need to approve the budget, they just need to appropriate the funds based on the revenue that’s coming in. This is based on her interpretation of the Code of Virginia. Mr. Kost asked if there was a possible solution in bringing someone in specifically to do an audit to figure out the carry over.
Dr. Pica stated there’s a possibility for everything. The Joint Finance committee mentioned that maybe the firm coming in, Cherry Bekaert, can look into this concern.
9. Next meeting: July 1, 2026???
Mr. John Kost adjourned the meeting.
FORWARD TOGETHER