Blackford County Audit Says Federal Reporting Errors Carried Into 2025
From the State Board of Accounts audit report released on Sept. 25, 2026
Blackford County entered 2025 with a major federal-reporting problem still unresolved, and state auditors said the county added several more control issues during the year.
The State Board of Accounts said the county materially misstated its federal Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards, the report that tracks federal grant spending. Auditors said the 2025 filing understated Child Support Services by $83,642, left out $144,963 in Highway Planning and Construction spending, understated $1,967,754 in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds spending, and understated other grants by $38,940.
The audit summary said the county had not corrected the same main federal-reporting finding from the 2024 audit. Auditors also reported multiple overdrawn fund balances at year end, including $113,236 in the BR#23 Big Lick Creek 2201607 fund, no county cell-phone reimbursement policy despite reimbursements and stipends to employees, an outdated capital-asset ledger, a treasurer-side cash-and-investments control weakness, and a separate COVID-relief reporting control problem.
The county's written response through the auditor's office said it plans corrective steps by Dec. 31, 2026, including reconciliations, checklists, independent reviews, and more staff training.
Source: Indiana State Board of Accounts audit report — Report 19250S/A/F: Blackford County, 01/01/2025 to 12/31/2025
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