Lincoln County completes, approves financial policy

The Lincoln County Commission approved on May 31 a series of county financial policy documents that define financial procedures from bill paying to expense accounting.

“Before this, the county really had no updated financial policy,” said County Administrator Darren Coldwell. “There were some standard policies that we were following, but nothing as detailed as what we’ve come up with now.”

Spurred by the county applying for and receiving some large grants with requirements for how the money is handled, Coldwell said he and colleagues Wendy Drake and Dallas Beau had spent about six hours a day for 90 days working on the policy.

“Although we refer to it as the financial policy, it’s really about five documents that detail how to deal with all payables, from travel and meals to routine bills,” Coldwell said. “Now if any department head has a question about finances, there is something they can refer to.”

The documents are expected to provide a framework for county financial policies for years to come.

“The policies will remain relevant as long as there aren’t any changes at a federal or state level,” Coldwell said. “And even if there are, we can easily change sections of the documents without having to rewrite the whole thing.”