County audit finds clean opinion but officials warn liquidity has slipped

A county-contracted audit firm told the County Council that the 2024 financial statements received an unmodified opinion, while council members and commenters raised concerns that rising net position masks declining liquidity and heavy reliance on state and federal funding. George Jurcovich, principal at CA, said the audit was performed under generally accepted auditing standards and government auditing standards and that the county’s government-wide net position increased by $2.1 million, about 2 percent, and the general fund balance increased by $3.8 million, mainly due to the 2024 millage increase. "The county received an unmodified opinion," Jurcovich said. He also reported that the county adopted GASB Statement No. 100 and GASB Statement No. 101 but that they did not materially affect the financial statements this year. In response to the audit presentation, a commenter who reviewed four years of audited results said the county’s liquidity has fallen: "your liquidity has dropped from 49% in 2022 to 42% as we approach 2025," and cautioned that expenses growing faster than revenues reduce how far the dollars go. The commenter also noted that 51.5% of the county budget is funded by state and federal sources and that real-estate taxes cover about 16.8% of budgetary needs, observations the auditor had noted in the presentation. Jurcovich briefed the council on the county single audit of major federal programs, listing programs being tested including child support enforcement, the Community Development Block Grant, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), foster care and the emergency rental assistance program, and said testing was nearly complete except for a few foster-care items; he indicated the county is expected to receive an unmodified opinion on compliance and internal control for those programs if remaining items are resolved. Council members asked follow-up questions about ARPA reporting and the timing of final single-audit items. The presentation included one operational measurement the auditor highlighted as a strength: a budgetary cushion ratio (unassigned fund balance divided by next year’s budgeted expenditures) of about 37%, which the auditor described as "very strong" compared with a commonly cited 10–15% benchmark for governments. No formal vote or directive on the audit was recorded in the transcript during this segment. The audit and the subsequent discussion will inform council budget and policy conversations; members asked for additional follow-up on ARPA and the remaining single-audit items so the council can respond to right-to-know requests and program reporting needs.