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County budget official: audited fund balance is not the same as cash; 2023 audit showed ~$24.4M fund balance
Summary
Mary Roselle, head of budget and finance, told council the $24.4 million fund balance shown in the 2023 audit represents receivables and other noncash assets and is not equivalent to available cash. She said the fund balance approximates the two months' revenue target used by rating agencies.
Mary Roselle, division head of budget and finance, told Luzerne County Council that the commonly cited figure for the county's fund balance from the 2023 audit—about $24.4 million—refers to accounting fund balance, not cash on hand.
Roselle explained that government accounting records receivables (for example, tax receivables and agency receivables such as from children and youth services) and prepaid assets as part of assets that produce a fund balance; those items are not immediately spendable cash. She said auditors record revenues and receivables into the audit year when appropriate, which can increase reported fund balance even though the cash collection may occur in the subsequent calendar period.
Roselle said the 2023 audited fund balance is consistent with the commonly used two‑months'‑expenditure guideline that ratings analysts consider healthy; she told council that two months of the 2023 budget would be about $24.3 million, explaining why maintaining that fund balance supports the county's credit rating.
Council members asked about online references that suggested different numbers; Roselle directed members to the county's published 2023 audit and a specific page with restricted/unrestricted fund balance details for verification.
