Liberty County audit issues clean opinion; officials note one repeat internal-control finding
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Summary
External auditors issued an unmodified (clean) FY25 opinion and a clean single-audit for federal programs; county officials discussed a repeat Yellow Book finding about overlap of duties in small elected-officer offices and noted an improving fund balance and planned monitoring of enterprise funds.
Bridal and Jeans CPAs presented Liberty County’s FY25 audited financial statements to the Board of Commissioners and issued an unmodified, or clean, opinion on the county’s financial statements.
"We issued an unmodified or clean opinion," auditor Kirk Arch said, adding that the county’s financial statements are materially correct and can be relied on by the public and outside parties. Arch also noted a clean single-audit for federal programs reviewed this year, including the Hazard Mitigation Program with about $2.8 million in expenditures.
The auditor flagged one repeat item in a Yellow Book communication: several elected-officer offices show a low segregation of duties because of small office staffing. "Almost all of our counties have the same finding," Arch said, calling it common rather than a material problem.
County finance staff and commissioners discussed that finding and other risk areas. Finance staff reported that, from a government-wide view, the county ended the year with roughly $267.9 million in assets and deferred outflows and about $97.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. On a fund basis, the general fund balance was reported at about $43.3 million, with approximately 6.7 months of operating reserves — a level the auditor described as strong for a June 30 year end.
Officials also reviewed enterprise and special-revenue funds. Arch said the solid-waste fund showed a deficit this year but that a rate-structure change and other adjustments are expected to correct the shortfall over time. Staff said they’ll continue monthly monitoring and follow up with budget amendments where needed.
The board thanked finance staff and the auditor for the report and discussed follow-up steps to address internal-control overlap and to keep the county on its current fiscal trajectory. No formal motion was required to accept the auditor’s presentation.
