Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen said the county’s audit for FY 21-22 was a good one, overall.
And while the results of the audit may not have been a surprise, it’s always a relief to get the official word from those outside auditors that things are going along smoothly.
“In terms of financials, we had a year where operating revenues exceeded expenditures and we were able to maintain our fund balance with transferring out $4.5 million from the general fund to the capital fund in the spring of 2022,” McMillen explained in a written statement to WIZS News, as a follow-up to the February commissioners’ meeting.
That $4.5 million transfer was made to help with future capital needs such as physical improvements to the jail and a potential EMS station, he said.
But county leaders can’t spend what they don’t have.
“On the revenue side, we saw a second year in a row of sales tax and property taxes coming in more than budgeted,” McMillen said. Those higher-than-budgeted figures, along with continued efforts to keep other expenditures below budget teamed up to make for a positive financial report.
He added that although the previous tax collection rate was quite high at 97.6 percent, it ticked up to its highest level last year at 97.73 percent.
One bright spot comes with the increased revenues from the water system. “We are continuing to see improvement,” McMillen said, adding that the county “brought in $43,399 more in revenue than expenditures even though there was a net loss of $155,136.” That net loss is figured in when accounting for depreciation for system components which are approaching 10 years of use.
There were no transfers from the general fund to the water fund in the 21-22 budget, which shows that it continues to be “self-sufficient” in terms of generating enough cash to support itself.
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