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County auditor issues unmodified opinion; general fund grows by about $1.2 million
Summary
CliftonAllen reported an unmodified audit opinion for Chippewa County's 2024 financial statements and noted an increase in the general fund balance largely driven by investment returns; auditors reported no internal control deficiencies or single‑audit compliance issues.
Chippewa County officials heard the 2024 audit report at their board meeting as CliftonAllen presenter April Anderson reported an unmodified opinion on the county’s financial statements and no reportable internal control deficiencies.
"We issued an unmodified opinion on your financial statements for the year," April Anderson told the board, noting that is the highest audit opinion and indicates the county’s statements conform to generally accepted accounting principles. She said the county also had no compliance findings in the single audit of federal and state funding.
Anderson highlighted a roughly $1.2 million increase in the county’s general fund balance during 2024, rising from about $24.1 million to $25.4 million. She attributed most of that gain to favorable market returns on county investments. The auditor also broke down fund‑balance classifications: approximately $1.7 million nonspendable, about $8.5 million assigned to specific purposes (including $1.1 million for facility projects and $790,000 for a security plan), and $15.0 million unassigned — roughly 37.8% of annual expenditures. Anderson said that range fits the county’s policy and is within common bond‑market benchmarks.
Other highlights in the presentation:
- Sales tax fund: Ending balance reported at roughly $16.1 million; about $8.8 million in sales tax revenues received in 2024 with $9.1 million transferred out for general fund support, debt service and highway projects. - ARPA: The auditor said federal ARPA funds received in 2021–22 totaling about $12 million were fully obligated/spent by 2024. - Opioid settlement and nonmetallic mining reclamation funds were noted as continuing revenue sources for targeted purposes. - Highway fund: Reported a strong current ratio (current assets to current liabilities) of 9.5, improved from 5.8 the prior year; the increase reflected transfers from the county sales tax fund. - Long‑term obligations: General obligation debt rose to about $10.3 million after 2024 debt issuance; the county is using ~2.1% of its statutory debt limit.
Supervisors asked clarifying questions about debt capacity and the implications of borrowing large sums; Anderson and staff said debt is tax‑supported and that while default would ultimately require levy action, heavy borrowing could affect credit ratings. The board received the audit presentation and had no audit findings to address.
