Tyrrell audit reflects deficit spending past two years
Published 12:48 pm Tuesday, May 14, 2019
The recently released audit of Tyrrell County’s financial accounts shows deficit spending on governmental activities in each of the past two fiscal years.
Governmental activities include social services, sheriff, schools, emergency medical services and transport, buildings and grounds, solid waste collection, and two dozen other programs.
Cherry Bekaert LLP of Raleigh, the county’s contracted auditors, reported that the county spent $729,283 more on governmental activities than it received in fiscal 2018 and overspent by $519,326 in fiscal 2017.
Key elements of the 2018 decrease in net position are:
– Implementation of Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 75, which provides guidelines for accounting and financial reporting of post-employment benefits other than pensions. This implementation required a prior period adjustment of $977,231, decreasing net position.
– Transfer of $345,041 in E911 funds to Dare County for operation of Dare-Tyrrell-Hyde Consolidated E911 Center.
– A decrease in intergovernmental revenues.
– New LCID fee was implemented. (LCID is the Smith Lane solid waste disposal site)
– Increase in property tax collections.
– Decrease in solid waste fee collections.
– Increases in local option sales taxes, interest income on investments, salaries and benefits, inmate detention costs, Emergency Management for capital expenditures, Emergency Medical Services costs, LCID operation costs, lease expenditure for DSS Building, and education expenses for social worker position at the schools.
The audit shows a slight increase in net position at June 30, 2018, over the preceding fiscal year when governmental activities and business accounts are combined.
Business accounts are mainly water and sewer operations.
The auditors reported total assets at $26,461,325 plus $482,360 in deferred outflows, liabilities at $11,777,447 minus $459,119 in deferred inflows, with net position at $14,707,120. The net position at June 30, 2017, was $14,617,979.
Total revenues from governmental activities for the 2017-18 fiscal year amounted to $6,682,825, up from $6,620,700 for the year ending June 30, 2017.
Expenses among governmental activities were $7,392,108 for 2017-18 and $7,140,026 the year before that.
Business type activities brought in $3,500,488 in the most recent fiscal year versus $2,023,877 in the year before.
Business type activities expenses for 2017-18 were $1,434,712 and $1,425,736 the previous year.