Board accepts Pine County's 2024 audited financial statements; unmodified opinion reported

County Auditor-Treasurer Kelly Schroeder presented Pine County's 2024 audited financial statements and summarized key points: management's discussion and analysis, government-wide and fund-level statements, required supplementary information, and the schedule of federal awards. Schroeder told the board the state auditor issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on both the county's financial statements and its federal awards.

Schroeder also described a material internal-control weakness the auditors identified during their procedures. The finding related to an invoice paid in January 2025 for a 2024 highway project that was not initially recorded as a 2024 expense and therefore the related state reimbursement was not coded as 2024 revenue. The accounting staff corrected the entries before the report was finalized, and Schroeder said staff implemented clearer processes and coding coordination between the auditor's office and highway accounting to prevent recurrence.

The auditor highlighted that the county's unassigned general-fund balance increased in 2024 and that the county is capturing higher interest earnings by limiting operating checking balances and investing surplus in higher-yield accounts. Debt service remains structured to keep payments level over time, and the audit's federal single-audit work focused on highway planning/construction and Medicaid programs with no reportable findings.

The board moved, seconded and accepted the audited 2024 financial statements by voice vote. One commissioner registered an opposition to aspects noted in the report on the record after the vote.

Ending: The audit was formally accepted; staff will continue to implement stronger internal controls and the auditor's office will return with any follow-up items required by the state auditor.