On Tuesday, January 24, Mauldin & Jenkins presented Macon-Bibb County’s first Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) to the Commission, which is based on its audit of the county’s finances for July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016. While Mauldin & Jenkins has conducted audits of the government’s finances in the past, this is the first time a CAFR has been completed because those previous audits provide the historical data needed for comparisons and trends.
“A CAFR goes above and beyond what is required for governments,” Miller Edwards of Mauldin & Jenkins told the Commissioners, adding that they are submitting an unmodified report with no findings for either the General Fund or the CDBG program (which is the largest of the federal grant programs for Macon-Bibb). “Across the board, everything I report to you today is clean, and that’s a good way to start.”
“To have an audit turned in on time is no small matter, and to have it with no findings, is amazing,” said Mayor Robert Reichert, thanking the auditing team and the Finance Department for their work in putting it together and the departments for their controls over how funds are spent throughout the year.
A major discussion for the Commissioners was the shrinking fund balance over the years, as the government has continued to reduce its revenues and expenditures, but not at the same rate. In the period covered by this CAFR, Macon-Bibb received $137 million in revenue and spent $145 million. This was less than what was budgeted to be spent, and the departments were credited with trying to cut as much as possible.
“Y’all pulled in the belt buckle another notch because you’re showing that you spent less than budgeted in many area,” said Edwards.
The additional funds came from the County’s fund balance, which dropped from about $28 million to $20 million. This is still considered to be a healthy fund balance, but the Commissioners all stated that more revenue needs to be identified and more cuts made so that balance can be rebuilt.
To read the full CAFR, click here.