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Mariposa posts FY2022 single audit; officials say FY2023 audit delay is holding up utility rate fixes and some grant funds
Summary
County Administrative Officer Joe Lynch told the Board that Mariposa County posted its FY2022 single audit on Jan. 6. County staff said the FY2023 audit likely will be completed between March and June 2025; officials warned that the missing verification is preventing utility rate changes and has delayed some grant payments.
Mariposa County Administrative Officer Joe Lynch told the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 that the county posted the fiscal year 2022 single audit to the county auditor's website on Jan. 6.
The posting matters because county staff and supervisors said they cannot confidently use FY2023 financial figures for decisions — including proposed utility rate adjustments and related budgeting — until an outside auditor completes a comparable review of FY2023. "On January 6, the single audit for fiscal year '22 was done. It has been posted to the Mariposa County Auditor page under annual financial reports," Lynch said.
County officials described practical consequences from the audit delay. Director Hansen and other staff told the board that until the outside auditor signs off on FY2023, the county cannot finalize utility rate changes for several local water and wastewater districts. Supervisors said the last comprehensive utility rates were set in February 2008 and that the county has operated with inadequate fee structures for years.
Supervisor Poe and other board members said the audit backlog has tangible costs. HHSA staff confirmed grant payments are on hold pending the audit completion, and supervisors said the county has effectively been subsidizing utility districts through short-term loans. County staff estimated the FY2023 single-audit review will occur between March and June 2025, depending on the auditor Smith & Newell's schedule.
Public Works and finance staff said much of the work to correct FY2022 issues — including capital-asset reconciliations after the county's conversion to Oracle — provides a foundation for completing FY2023 more quickly. Public Works leadership told the board that once the audits are current, the county is prepared to pursue repairs, staffing increases and rate adjustments for water and wastewater systems, but emphasized they cannot act until the auditor verifies the numbers.
Officials repeated that the county will resume a regular audit cadence once FY2023 is complete and that earlier audit work reduces the likelihood of future multi-year delays. No formal board action was taken on Jan. 14; the discussion was informational and focused on timing and practical impacts of the audit backlog.
Board members said they will schedule follow-up briefings and town-hall meetings for utility district customers after the FY2023 audit is posted.
