Auditor: Bonner County financial statements materially correct; recommends staff training on accounting system

Jordan Swigart, an auditor with Swigart, John and Associates, told Bonner County commissioners on Wednesday that the county's financial statements for the year ended Sept. 30, 2024, "in our opinion, they're materially correct." He presented highlights from the audit and answered commissioners' questions about fund balances, long-term obligations and internal controls.

The audit shows combined governmental funds ending the year with about $31.9 million in cash. The general fund held roughly $4.53 million; the Justice Fund about $9.2 million; Road and Bridge just under $8.2 million; grants about $242,000; and the ambulance (EMS) fund about $688,000. The solid-waste proprietary fund ended the year with about $8.1 million in cash, and the county's self-insurance (medical/dental) funds had about $2.5 million.

The auditor summarized year-over-year changes: the general fund reserve decreased by roughly $3.8 million; the Justice Fund increased by about $1.8 million; Road and Bridge increased about $2.7 million; grants decreased $368,000; the ambulance fund decreased about $1.3 million; and other funds collectively increased about $550,000.

Swigart said the audit required a number of year-end adjusting journal entries to bring the county's records into full compliance with generally accepted accounting principles, and he identified that as a material weakness in internal control. "Training needs to be provided on the accounting system to make sure that... entries are made at the end of the year or throughout the year, not by auditors at the end of the year," he told the board.

On federal grants, the report lists about $8.4 million of federal money spent in fiscal 2024; Swigart said the audit found no federal-compliance findings for the grants selected for testing. On the question of irregularities, he said: "No. I mean, the big one's always cash. All the cash tied out. All the reconciliations were done, tied out." He added that most adjustments related to accruals, prepaid expenses and timing of invoices rather than cash transactions.

The audit also documents several liabilities and financing items: leases and right-of-use obligations with about $1.3 million in future payments; compensated-absence (vacation) accruals of about $2.2 million; county equipment debt with roughly $3.6 million remaining (including recent motor grader financing); and a USDA loan of about $8.0 million associated with the solid-waste enterprise, which replaced a bond anticipation note.

Budget-to-actual highlights: the general fund budgeted to use $6.2 million of reserves but used about $3.8 million; general-fund revenues were about $9.8 million versus a $7.9 million original budget (mostly driven by higher-than-budgeted interest income). Road and Bridge revenue came in higher than budgeted (about $14.0 million actual vs. $11.0 million budgeted), but Road and Bridge ended slightly over its final amended budget, largely because of leased equipment accounting and capital outlay increases. The grant fund receipts were about $3.8 million with transfers—including a local assistance transfer—into the ambulance fund.

Commissioners and staff asked for more time to review the full report. Several commissioners said they want a PDF of the final audit to be provided in advance of future presentations so they can formulate detailed questions; Swigart agreed to supply the final PDF ahead of the next meeting and offered to return by Zoom to walk through line-item detail if commissioners request it.

Commissioners and staff also raised concern about the EMS fund, which Swigart said has fallen below the county's informal target range; he recommended that commissioners understand any planned capital or transfers that affect that fund and continue monitoring. Swigart recommended that the county provide Tyler accounting-software training for staff and that the clerk's office pursue the Tyler user conference and internal mentoring to reduce year-end adjustments.

The auditor recommended clearer presentation during the public meeting so viewers can see the pages being discussed; commissioners asked that future audit presentations display the report on screen and make the final PDF publicly available in advance. Swigart said auditors could provide more granular, line-item budget-to-actual reports pulled from the county's Tyler system on request.

No formal board actions or votes were recorded during the presentation. The meeting record indicates the board adjourned after the audit presentation.