Levy County audit: clean opinion, $21.3M general‑fund balance and landfill deficit driven by estimates

The Levy County Board of County Commissioners received the county's fiscal‑year 2025 audit on Tuesday, with auditors issuing an unmodified — or "clean" — opinion on the county's financial statements.

"We do have what's called an unmodified opinion or a clean opinion," said Bridal McKittrick, partner with James Moore & Company, as she summarized the audit reports and accompanying schedules. The audit includes a single‑audit report because grant expenditures exceeded federal thresholds; McKittrick said no findings were identified in that report.

Why it matters: the clean opinion signals the auditors found Levy County's financial statements reliable under applicable accounting standards, but the presentation also highlighted areas commissioners must monitor. McKittrick pointed to general‑fund and other fund balances, a continuing operating loss in the landfill fund, and a government‑wide net pension liability tied to the Florida Retirement System.

Key numbers and explanations: McKittrick said the county's combined assigned and unassigned general‑fund balance is about $21,300,000 and noted that the Government Finance Officers Association recommends a minimum of about two months of expenditures (roughly 16.7 percent) as a floor for reserves. She described the landfill fund's unrestricted net position as a deficit driven by two primary items: an engineer's estimate of landfill liability and the county's allocated share of a theoretical retirement‑system liability pushed to government‑wide statements. "Those are kind of the two big items with regards to how that number gets driven," she said, adding the pension allocation is an accounting entry rather than an immediate cash outlay.

Auditor recommendations and next steps: McKittrick noted material adjusting entries were required to present the financial statements properly but said staff is addressing these items and the expectation is they will not recur next fiscal year. The auditors also pointed to communication items in the management letter and the Chapter 10‑550 management letter to the Auditor General, which provide non‑control suggestions for county officials to consider.

Board reaction and follow up: Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the landfill loss and what it would take to improve that fund's position. McKittrick said that while some of the liabilities are estimates for accounting purposes, the county should continue to monitor the items and the staff recommended actions.

The board took no separate formal vote on the audit presentation beyond receiving the report; staff and auditors said they will continue working to implement the presented adjustments and to clarify items in next year's statements.