Burke County manager presents year-end fiscal report showing positive cash flow, FEMA reimbursement pending

Burke County Manager Brian Eppley told the Burke County Board of Commissioners Monday that the county closed fiscal year 2024–25 with improved revenues, positive cash flow in several enterprise funds and several operational changes that produced savings and service improvements.

Eppley presented the county’s year-end report and a slide packet, saying, “As you’re all aware, our fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30,” and that the county is about 90 days into its post‑fiscal‑year audit process. He told the board the county’s total revenue for the year was about $113.8 million and that 53.64% of that came from property taxes.

The report highlighted several operational changes and results. Eppley said the county implemented a comprehensive pay classification study and completed a first full year of in‑house EMS billing. “By bringing that in house, we grew revenue this year by about 41% from about $5,100,000 to $7,500,000,” he said, describing the increase as unrestricted revenue that helps offset department costs. He also said bringing municipal solid waste hauling in‑house yielded roughly $1.1 million in taxpayer savings.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the financial performance reduces pressure on the property tax rate and gives the county funds to invest in capital projects. Eppley noted capital projects for EMS, animal services and the courthouse remain on time and under budget.

Key fund results and program notes - Solid waste: Eppley reported the solid waste enterprise turned a positive cash flow of roughly $2.8 million; about $1.5 million of that was tied to an extraordinary debris‑collection payout related to storm cleanup. Excluding that one‑time item, the fund still posted about $1.3 million positive cash flow. - Water and sewer: The water/sewer fund ended the year with a positive surplus of roughly $433,000. The county is pursuing meter and infiltration projects and replacing about 2,500 water meters through a Division of Water Quality grant. - Investment income: Interest income rose from roughly $63,000 in 2022 to more than $2.1 million in the most recent year, although Eppley said the amount fell slightly from the prior year because the county had less cash on hand after capital investments. - EMS billing: Eppley said the county moved EMS billing from a contract (which had charged roughly 6% of net collections) to in‑house billing; historical collection rates under the contract averaged about 50–52%. The county’s in‑house revenue grew from about $5.1 million to $7.5 million year over year.

Debt, fund balance and FEMA reimbursement Eppley reported the county’s total debt stands near $28.4 million, with about 12.6% attributable to the county and the remainder assigned to the school system. He said the county’s fund balance policy target is 25% and that fund balance ended the year at about 19.5% after one‑time disaster recovery expenditures. He said that if FEMA public assistance reimbursements — about $11 million in the current application — are approved and returned, the county would be above the policy target.

Eppley described the FEMA public‑assistance application process as protracted, saying the county’s application had recently reached Washington, D.C., after multiple rounds of review and that staff expect eventual reimbursement. He also told the board the county received an award from the National Association of Counties for an innovation in environmental health dispatching.

Board reaction and action Commissioners praised staff and accepted the report. The board voted to accept the year‑end report as presented by unanimous vote.

Ending Eppley closed by noting the report materials were available to commissioners and staff and said county staff are working through audit questions while continuing capital and operational projects.