Auditors told the County Board that the county’s financial statements for the fiscal year are fairly presented but flagged several disclosures and internal-control recommendations for the board to address.

During a detailed walk-through, the auditor summarized fund‑level changes and footnote disclosures, noting the general fund dropped by about $304,000 and several tax-increment-financing (TIF) areas showed deficit balances because revenues to pay related debt have not yet been collected. The auditor said the county paid off its 2019 bond series during the year, which reduced balances in some funds.

The auditor singled out specific figures from the draft financial statements: rural services increased by about $63,000; secondary roads increased by about $37,000; an ethanol TIF area fell by about $278,000; nonmajor revenues rose roughly $311,000 overall; and the employee group health fund carried about $1,139,000 in restricted reserves at year-end. The auditor also identified a right‑to‑use leased asset of $7,002.40 tied to a multi‑year copier lease entered in the year and described disclosures required for pension (IPERS) and OPEB liabilities.

On tax increment financing, the auditor said three TIF funds—amended ethanol TIF, SENEX coop TIF and the CAE TIF area—had deficit fund balances because debt was issued before the expected TIF revenues were collected. The auditor noted those deficits are common for this type of financing but required disclosure.

The auditors also reviewed budget-to-actual schedules, custodial funds (tax collections held for other offices), and reconciliations required to convert the county’s cash-basis budget records to modified-accrual and full-accrual financial statements.

The report included an internal-control and compliance section that identified recommendations rather than material weaknesses. The auditor recommended the county address segregation of duties where possible, tighten IT access controls and password practices, implement job rotations for staff in critical finance roles, reconcile ambulance billing and QuickBooks receivables to the treasurer’s records, and enhance capital asset tracking and office procedures manuals.

The auditor raised specific concerns about credit-card recordkeeping, saying missing receipts are a recurring issue and recommending that supervisors require documentation or remove card access. On the local government opioid abatement fund, the auditor said interest postings were coded to the general fund in error; that has been corrected with the vendor and the auditor recommended reallocating the past interest to the opioid fund.

The auditor also summarized compliance items: the county is a member of IPERS (the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System) and the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP) for insurance; the auditor found no significant code violations but recommended clearer documentation on certain credit-card and payroll forms.

Board discussion touched on insurance deductibles. One board member said the projected savings from raising the liability-insurance deductible did not appear large enough to justify the change, and the board did not take formal action on the premium or deductible during the meeting.

The auditor closed by offering to provide follow-up materials and staff contact information for questions; the board scheduled follow-up items, including continued monitoring of TIF balances and recommended internal-control improvements.