In response to comments from folks unknown under the article
Officials’ Perks Ruled Taxable in Grafton Township
prompted Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore sent the following:
I am writing this email to address some of the concerns brought up by anonymous commenters.
The Township Officials of Illinois arranged for the IRS to educate the Township Supervisors of Northern Illinois about the IRS rules last summer.
They also arranged for the IRS to educate all of the township officials in Illinois to learn about the IRS rules at the annual convention last November.
The Highway Commissioner and his daughter attended this training.
Recently the IRS has started offering state-wide telephone conferences to educate municipal staff and officials.
The FSLG (Federal, State, and Local Governments) is a newer division of the IRS.
The auditors completed their field work in June of 2011 and have just sent their final audit for FY 2010 and draft audit for FY 2011 in time for the February 2012 board meeting.
The auditors have provided no reason to the board for the delay in finalizing their audits.
Trustee [Rob] LaPorta has been in regular contact via phone and email, with the auditors since the fieldwork was completed.
A special meeting of the board was held in August of 2011 during which he talked with the auditors for well over an hour.
The board was informed of the IRS regulations in August of 2011 and again in January of 2012.
They discussed the IRS and IMRF audits at the January 2012 board meeting.
The Assessor and Highway Commissioner participated in the IRS audit.
The board has been provided with the phone number for the IRS contact who has audited the township.
The township has recently also been audited by the IMRF.
The board has not adopted the recommendations of the IMRF resulting from the audit.
The trustees have copies of the CPA audits, IRS audit, and the IMRF audit.
The Supervisor’s office uses three vehicles, a bus and two minivans, that were obtained by the previous supervisor using general assistance funds and county grants.
The McHenry Council of Governments reaction can be found here.
Wow, that answers everything Linda (except if you allow your daughter to drive the GA vehicle).
This “response” reads like a series of random thoughts that have not been connected.
Cal, do you read Linda’s emails before you make them a blog entry? She may have slipped something part you.
I can tell you as a small business owner that has “survived” several IRS audits over the years that the rules aren’t always cut and dry, and the “interpretations” of accounts and other professionals are fine wrong.
If I have employees working late, or on a weekend, I can buy them pizza out of my own pocket, but I can’t deduct it as a business expense lest it become income to them.
Likewise, I’d I send an employee to a one day conference, I can’t reimburse him for his meals unless an overnight stay is involved.
If I do, technically that is income to him.
The IRS logic is he would have had to eat anyway, and he could have brought a sack lunch.
The key is having an vernier stay involved (and reasonably required).
If you’ve ever noticed a lot of “executive” functions will start with some type of registration and reception the night before the conference…this is so a business owner can point to that as a reason to cover the nights stay, and reimburse the cos of all meals and travel.
Looks like Linda Moore uses her own set of rules and has a vendetta out for Jack Freund and his daughter, the trustees, the assessor.
It seems Linda Moore leaves out a lot of facts in her postings.
Maybe her unsavory doings are catching up with her.
Cal, I noticed that you didn’t report that the IRS agent recanted his statement and that his original findings were due to Moore giving mis- information.
Yes, Rob Laporta was in constant contact with the auditors until Moore told the auditing company to cease communication with him and that copies of the audit were not to be given to the trustees.
It took a strongly worded letter from the attorneys office before the trustees were finally given copies of the audits….which are still inaccurate and incomplete.
“The Supervisor’s office uses three vehicles….” apparently so does the supervisors daughter.