Hays County auditors issue clean opinion on FY2025 financial report; auditors recommend independent procurement review

Hays County’s independent auditors delivered a clean opinion on the county’s FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), the county auditor and audit partner told the Commissioners Court.

Jeremy Barbato, audit partner for ABIP, said the firm issued an unmodified opinion after auditing the county’s financial statements and single‑audit required for federal and state funding. He reported total assets of about $94.5 million, roughly $83 million in cash and cash equivalents, and an increase in the general‑fund balance of $5.6 million compared with the prior year. The county’s unassigned fund balance was reported at approximately $66.7 million, equal to roughly five months of operating reserves.

Barbato said the audit included required implementation of GASB 101 (compensated absences), which produced a restatement of net position of about $4.6 million. He said auditors identified no material weaknesses, no significant deficiencies and no reportable noncompliance in the financial statements or in the major federal programs the team tested (including Highway Planning and Construction grants).

As a point of process improvement, auditors recommended formalizing conflict‑of‑interest disclosures and an independent review of procurement bid tabulations after finding a selection committee that failed to disclose a conflict in one procurement and a tabulation miscalculation that required a solicitation to be voided. Commissioners asked staff to draft a procurement policy and bring it back to the court for review.

County Auditor Marisol Villavial Alonso told the court she has filed required disclosures where family members work in the engineering sector and described internal controls and steps to remove herself from any matters that would create a conflict for the auditor’s office. The court accepted the ACFR as audited.

Why it matters: The unmodified opinion indicates the county’s financial statements are presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and that federal and state grant activity was compliant in audited major programs. The procurement recommendation points to a governance improvement that the court said it will act on.

What’s next: Staff will draft and return a procurement conflict‑of‑interest review policy for the court’s consideration. The ACFR will be posted publicly once finalized.