County auditor issues clean opinion; fund balance up and debt down, board hears adjustments

An independent auditor from Thompson, Price, Scott & Adams presented the county's FY23'FY24 audit and issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements.

The auditor summarized key figures from the report: total general fund balance as of June 30, 2024, about $44,100,104; total general fund expenditures approximately $70.6 million; available fund balance at 53.79% in the presented analysis; unassigned fund balance about 25.8% in one metric and 36.62% in another (as presented in the packet). Fixed assets and depreciation for the water enterprise were discussed; total fixed assets in water were presented as $89.8 million with accumulated depreciation of about $34 million.

The auditor described several prior-period adjustments: reallocating ARPA funds between projects, reclassifying a revolving loan previously recorded as a loan instead of a grant, and adjustments related to implementation of lease accounting (first-year leases noted in June 2023). The firm identified a few technical Medicaid-related matters but said there were no questioned costs or disagreements with management; overall the report was "unmodified," the auditor said.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the notes, material weaknesses language and spending trends. One commissioner observed that county expenditures had increased roughly $12 million in five years and urged more board review of the budget process.

Next steps: the auditor said he was available for follow-up questions and staff will incorporate required management responses in the FPIC/management letter process.