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Napa County audits year‑end books; controller stresses caution on FEMA funds, approves routine accounting cleanups
Summary
The Board approved the county’s fiscal‑year 2024–25 year‑end accounting and fund‑balance assignments (item 5b). County Controller Tracy Scholz summarized routine book‑closing entries, temporary cash advances and rollovers and cautioned that FEMA funding remains under audit and must be reserved until final federal audit waivers.
The Napa County Board of Supervisors approved a year‑end accounting package (item 5b) on Sept. 9 that formalized fund‑balance assignments, budget amendments, contract adjustments and temporary cash advances needed to close the books for fiscal year 2024–25.
Tracy Scholz, Napa County Controller, said most of the items were routine, technical accounting steps required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and by state rules. She walked the board through key sections of the year‑end memo, including restricted fund balances (third‑party and grant restrictions), board commitments and assignments, budgetary cleanups, contract increases, temporary cash advances and rollovers for purchase orders and capital projects.
Scholz emphasized a county practice of reserving FEMA and other emergency reimbursement monies until federal auditors issue a final audit waiver: “Until we get that final audit waiver letter, that letter then starts that three‑year audit clock to tick,” she told supervisors. Scholz said the county had been releasing emergency reserves as required, but cautioned against prematurely spending funds that might later be subject to federal recapture in a future audit.
The controller described routine temporary cash advances (for example, the In‑Home Supportive Services fund) to avoid negative cash balances at fiscal year‑end and explained the county’s PERS prepayment practice, which often results in small interdepartmental refunds after final reconciliations. Supervisors who asked questions thanked controller staff for careful, cautious bookkeeping and asked for public‑facing summaries to aid community understanding.
Action: Supervisor Alessio moved, Supervisor Gallagher seconded and the board approved item 5b unanimously.
Ending — context: Staff said they would publish attachments and background materials online; supervisors asked for accessible summaries to explain technical steps and flagged that future FEMA audit outcomes could affect longer‑term funding plans.
