Harrison County auditors report January finances; court approves routine payments and child safety fee distribution

The Harrison County Commissioners Court reviewed unaudited January financial reports and approved routine county payments and transfers during its March 11 meeting at the historic Harrison County Courthouse.

County Auditor Becky told the court the January report reflects unaudited and unadjusted fund balances. "As of January 2025, we have a fund balance of $3,400,007,373,056 dollars," she said, and noted a negative balance tied to a confinement grant that has been reduced after recent receipts. Becky said the county had received $476,768.24 against outstanding grant invoices and that the remaining balance on that grant fund was $153,938.72, which she characterized as approximately one month’s invoice.

The nut graf: The financial briefing led to routine approvals that the court said were necessary to keep county operations current, with commissioners emphasizing the unaudited status of the figures and pointing to property-tax-driven revenue increases year over year.

Becky reported revenue and expenditure comparisons for several funds. For the general fund she said the county had collected $12,907,874 as of January 2025 compared with $8,946,816 in the prior fiscal year, an increase of $3,961,057 driven largely by property taxes. She said general fund expenditures were $10,733,285 versus $8,413,847 in the prior fiscal year, citing public-safety spending for a Motorola project as a major expenditure driver. For the Road and Bridge Fund she reported collections of $2,890,805 versus $2,075,166 last year, an increase she attributed again to property taxes, and noted additional payments this fiscal year for the Silco project.

Following the report, the court unanimously approved a requested line-item transfer of $8,811.67, the payment of regular bills and the February 2025 payroll correction that had been listed incorrectly as January on the agenda. Each vote was 4-0 in favor.

The commissioners also approved a payment in the amount of $43,482.83 described as distribution of the child safety fee to incorporated cities within Harrison County, with $38,768.63 to be disbursed to the cities and the county retaining $4,714.20 as an administrative fee. Commissioners discussed the annual total and outstanding nonprofit contracts; one commissioner observed that the county’s child safety fee revenue for the year was expected to be in the $80,000–$90,000 range, and that some contracted nonprofit recipients had not yet returned annual contracts. Commissioner Coos confirmed the distribution under consideration was to the cities.

Ending: Commissioners indicated the figures are unaudited and staff will follow up on outstanding grant receipts and remaining contract paperwork. No further financial actions were taken at the meeting.