Chambana Sun

Champaign County auditor George Danos should either complete the 2019 county audit or resign, several Republican members of the county board said.

"The promise we got last night was June 1," Republican Board Member Jim Goss told WCCU. "My response to that was 'put your money where your mouth is, and if you don't have it done by June 1, you should resign.'"

The audit has not been completed because of unfinished work by the previous treasurer and circuit clerk, according to Dano and several board members, the station reported.

"I am not at all moved by the predictable response of the board's most strident partisans," Danos told the station in a statement on the call for his resignation.

The county could lose state funds because of the delay in completing and turning in the audit, WCCU reported.

The state may stop payments for grants for rent assistance, the station said.

The auditor never told the county board members about delays reportedly caused by Treasurer Laurel Prussing, Goss said.

"A lot of this started when he didn't report to the county board that Laurel Prussing, who was the treasurer elected in November of 2018, she did absolutely nothing for 400 days," Goss said.

As the auditor, Danos had a duty to keep the board informed, Goss said.

"He's the financial watchdog," Goss said. "He should have been reporting to the County Board this stuff wasn't getting done. You could have given her two months, and if it didn't get done in two months, then it's time to start to report that."

Democrats countered that the county needs to finish the audit and let Danos that that job.

"I'm not interested in entertaining political posturing," Champaign County Board Democratic Chairperson Kyle Patterson told the station. "What we need right now is solutions to solve this audit as quick as possible and not political posturing."