Meriwether County finance director flags SPLOST, TSPLOST as committed negative balances; county says cash remains available

Finance Director Tammy Lackey told the Board of Commissioners on July 28 that the county27s SPLOST fund balance was showing a negative balance of $271,708.74 and that the TSPLOST fund reflected a negative balance of $278,715.48.

"The SPLOST fund balance reflected a negative balance of $271,708.74," Lackey said, and she offered to prepare a detailed accounting of transactions affecting the TSPLOST fund. County Administrator John Gorton said the negative figures reflect committed project funds and cash or ledger transactions recorded in the county accounting system rather than an immediate cash overdraft.

Gorton told commissioners the county had approximately $901,564 in SPLOST cash on hand and $602,327 in TSPLOST cash on hand, and that the negative balances presented in the financial report showed project commitments already approved by the Board rather than bank account shortfalls. He said the county expects LOST, SPLOST and TSPLOST distributions by the end of the week, with tipping and host fees arriving the following week.

Lackey and Gorton said staff would provide a line-item report to show the transactions that produced the ledger changes. The Board did not take further action at the meeting; commissioners asked for transparency and public clarity about how negative fund balances in the report relate to committed project funds and actual cash on hand.