County audit returns clean opinion; auditor recommends Land Bank Authority improve grant reconciliations

Muskegon County received an unmodified audit opinion on its financial statements and a clean single-audit of federal awards, county auditors reported to the Board of Commissioners.

Angela Krzyzewski, the county finance director, introduced Evan Rommel of Raymond, who told commissioners the firm issued a clean, unmodified opinion on the financial statements and found no material weaknesses, significant deficiencies or reportable noncompliance for federal awards tested. Rommel summarized the audited highlights: total county assets of $604,278,045, liabilities of $367,839,474, and a primary government ending fund balance of $230,506,902.

Rommel noted the audit included testing of federal programs such as airport improvement, federal transit, state drinking water and child support services and reported no material findings. He recommended one area for management attention: internal controls over grant accounting at the Muskegon County Land Bank Authority, where the auditors noted inconsistent reconciliation and reporting for a land‑blight elimination grant and advised timely, regular reconciliations to ensure revenues and expenditures are recorded accurately.

Commissioners asked questions about pension liabilities and fund balances. Rommel pointed to the pension disclosures in the report and said the county’s net pension liability was approximately $106,000,000 with actuarial contributor amounts met: “The actual determined contribution was $9,200,000 and you contributed $9,200,000,” he said.

Finance staff said they plan to have a standalone external audit and corrective action for the Land Bank Authority during next year’s audit season to address the recommendation.

The presentation and subsequent questions were part of the board’s informational items; no formal action was required beyond acknowledgement of the audit report.