“You could fund five months of operation just off what you have in fund balance,” said auditor Matt Miller of Treadwell, Tamplin and Company to the county finance committee. “That’s a good place to be.”
Miller noted that the county government won’t need to get a Tax Anticipation Note (TAN) — basically a loan — like it has in recent years when late digests put tax collections far behind schedule. He said the county failed to collect any taxes in 2004, but the county collected two years’ worth of taxes in 2007, leaving the government with a large enough fund balance now to deal with another round of late taxes.
Miller led the county finance committee — which includes two commissioners, the BOC chairman, and two certified public accountants — through a review of the 2007 county audit Tuesday, noting that there were only a handful of things that need improvement in the county’s financial structure.
Miller said that while there were numerous problems discovered in recent years, the county finance staff has worked diligently to correct problems.
“At this point, you can be confident in your numbers,” said Miller. “We’re not making numerous adjustments as we have in the past.”
Commissioner Stanley Thomas said the county has turned 180 degrees in a positive direction in terms of its financing practices.
“We’re in much better shape than when we had 50-60 journal entries,” said Thomas, referring to problems discovered by auditors. “We only had three or four this year.”
Miller noted that Madison County has significantly improved its EMS bill collection rate — the money paid to the county by citizens for ambulance services. The county had a contract with a person who collected approximately 36-38 percent of outstanding bills. Discouraged by the collections, the commissioners brought that duty in-house and collections have risen to around 55-60 percent, more in line with what most county’s collect, Miller said.
“That (EMS collections) shot up like a rocket once you got that billing procedure in house,” said Miller.
The finance committee also noted that audits are being completed on time now. Madison County fell far behind in schedule in its auditing process in recent years, but the 2008 county audit should be completed by the June 30 deadline.
“This is the first time in a long time we’ve been this close (to finishing an annual audit) so soon,” said finance committee member G. Michael Smith.
Finance committee member John Pethel opened Tuesday’s meeting by raising the possibility of a forensic audit of special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) funds. He noted that for several years only the county commission chairman and the county clerk had access to those accounts. Pethel said there were numerous confusing entries in those accounts, with money moved from one place to another without any clear reason. He asked Miller how much it would cost to conduct a forensic audit of the SPLOST accounts for the past six to seven years.
Miller said that he didn’t see anything that raised alarm bells.
“I’m not seeing anything causing me concern that there’s a lot of risk there that there’s a big problem,” said Miller of the SPLOST accounts.
But the auditor said he would sit down with Pethel to review any areas of concern. He said a forensic audit could range in cost, depending on the scope of the investigation. Toward the end of the meeting, he also suggested that the finance committee itself could serve as a SPLOST oversight committee.
“This board could take on the special project of monitoring SPLOST,” said Miller.
Of course, the economic downturn is expected to hurt SPLOST revenues in coming years. The BOC projected $12.6 million in sales tax revenue through 2012 for county improvements, but those calculations may face revision. Clark said Tuesday that sales tax revenues were down five percent in 2008. And Miller noted that 2009 could be worse.
In other matters Tuesday, the finance committee discussed measures taken to ensure that cash is handled properly. Deputy clerk Linda Cox gave a detailed explanation of how cash is now managed in the BOC office. Cox, who has a banking background, noted that banks require “dual control” of cash, so that one person isn’t solely responsible for money. The county has adopted that safety measure. They are also having a deputy make deposits to the bank in a locked bank bag to ensure the safe transfer of cash. Likewise, Miller encouraged the committee to request that any office, including those run by constitutionally elected officers, make daily deposits, rather than holding on to cash for any extended period. He noted that theft is a greater possibility when deposits aren’t made regularly.
