Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County auditor reports clean opinion; pension funding improved to about 70%
Summary
Hillsdale Countys 2024 financial statements and single-audit compliance received unmodified (clean) opinions. The auditor reported a general fund balance around $1.09M, tax revenue of roughly $9.6M, and pension funding near 70% with recommendations for minor trust-account cleanups.
The countys independent auditor presented the 2024 audit to the Board of Commissioners on Sept. 9 and reported an unmodified (clean) opinion on both the financial statements and the single-audit compliance for federal grants.
"The financial statements are presented fairly in all material respects," the auditor said, summarizing that the general fund balance ended the year at about $1,093,000 and tax revenues for the year were about $9.6 million. The auditor noted that the countys defined-benefit pension plan funding rose to roughly 70% (from about 66% the prior year), an improvement the auditor cited as positive.
Auditors described the actuarial smoothing approach used for market losses from 2022 and pointed to an investment return assumption of 6.93% used in the valuation. The auditor recommended minor cleanups in trust and agency fund reporting and urged staff training ahead of upcoming accounting-standard changes affecting capital-asset and reporting models.
The board voted to accept and place the audit on file. A commissioner said the single-audit clean opinion and the lack of material internal-control findings were important indicators of fiscal health; another commissioner asked that the auditor and finance staff pursue suggested cleanups in trust-account reconciliations.
Why it matters: a clean audit signals that county officials can rely on the presented financial statements for budgeting and decision-making. The pension funding level and projected contribution rates will factor into future budget discussions.
Next steps: staff will address minor audit recommendations, continue monitoring pension funding and examine whether additional contributions or surplus divisions should be used to reduce the unfunded liability.
