Amber, the auditor, presented the 2024 audit to the Adams County Administrative & Finance Committee and reported an unmodified opinion on both the financial statements and the federal single audit. “The results of our testing were that, in our opinion, the financial statements presented fairly in all material respects,” Amber said.

The audit showed the largest accounting change this year resulted from implementation of a new Governmental Accounting Standards Board rule on compensated absences (referred to in the presentation as GASB Statement 101). Amber said the change required the county to record additional types of leave and associated payroll taxes as liabilities. “The ultimate result in this change to the county’s financial statements was a $200,000 increase in the liabilities,” she said, noting about $175,000 of that increase was recorded in governmental activities and roughly $25,000–$26,000 in business-type activities (the highway and solid-waste enterprise funds).

The auditor also reported that the county received an unmodified single-audit opinion on federal programs and that no findings arose on the federal testing. On the state audit, however, the auditor described one finding involving the lack of an independent review of certain state grant submissions. Amber said the issue was primarily an internal-control recommendation rather than a material error in grant reporting.

The presentation reviewed fund-level balances and liquidity. Amber said the general fund held about $27 million in total assets, with liabilities just under $1.4 million and deferred inflows (largely taxes levied for the following year) just under $12.8 million, leaving a total general fund balance just under $13.1 million. She highlighted categories of fund balance and noted the county’s unassigned general fund balance stood at roughly $8.7 million, which the auditor said represented about 45% of budgeted expenditures and transfers — above the county’s fiscal-policy range of 15%–20%.

Amber reviewed other funds: the human services fund ended 2024 with about $4.4 million in fund balance after under-budget spending; the county roads and bridges special revenue fund showed a deficit of about $550,000 tied to project timing; and the capital projects fund rolled up to roughly $7.6 million committed to various projects. Combined across all funds, Amber said the county had about $35.6 million in total fund balance.

The auditor described enterprise fund results: highway operating revenues were about $11 million with operating expenses just under $10.9 million, producing modest operating income and a small net increase (about $37,000) after transfers. The solid-waste fund showed an operating loss of roughly $3.4 million; Amber said the primary driver was updated engineering estimates for long-term care and closure costs of the landfill, which produced roughly a $4 million accounting charge in 2024.

County staff and supervisors asked several clarifying questions. Kyle, the finance director, explained that funds set aside for closure are restricted cash required by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) but accounting rules require the county to present the full liability on the balance sheet and not net it against restricted cash. Kyle confirmed approximately $4 million has been set aside for closure in restricted funds and that estimated closure costs were projected at about $6 million.

On internal-control matters the auditor recommended that the county strengthen review procedures for state grant submissions; Amber said the county had no clerical errors in the files reviewed but noted the absence of a secondary review increases the risk of avoidable mistakes. Amber and Kyle said they had discussed potential worksheets and process changes that could reduce the risk going forward.

The presentation closed with auditors’ conventional comments about other audit adjustments and the county’s ongoing efforts to improve financial reporting and controls.

Ending: The committee accepted the presentation. Committee members were directed to the full audit report for line-by-line schedules and to staff for follow-up items related to state grant review and the accounting effects of GASB guidance on compensated absences.