On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, the Macon-Bibb County Commission was presented its annual audit for Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19), which ran from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. The audit was conducted by Mauldin & Jenkins, CPA, and Miller Edwards, who presented the audit, praised the County for having a clean audit that included no findings. He pointed out that it was commendable what the entire government has accomplished considering the challenges it has faced in building a new government.

The major highlight of the audit was the County was able to add approximately $13.5 million to its fund balance, rebuilding it from a low of 13 days of funding at the end of FY18 to nearly 45 days. The fund balance at the end of FY19 was approximately $19 million.

Of the approximately $13.5 million that was added to the fund balance:

• Almost $4.5 million was in increased revenue, with nearly $3 million of that coming from an increase in sales tax over what was projected, and
• More than $8 million in reduced expenses, with more than $5 million less in personnel and benefits and about $3 million less in contract services and supplies from what was budgeted.

“Our departments and employees do an amazing job at serving our community, even as they are asked to do more, and they deserve the praise of every person living and working in Macon-Bibb County,” says Mayor Robert Reichert. “Because of their efforts – and the efforts of our Commission to engage people in moving us Forward Together – we are becoming the Hub City of Middle Georgia, attracting more people to visit and spend their money here.”

“I want to thank our Commission – and our new Healthcare and Pension – Committee for taking a hard look at ways we could make policy changes that would benefit our employees and have a positive impact on our budget,” says Operations & Finance Chair Commissioner Virgil Watkins. “Also, many thanks to our Department Heads and other agency leads for what they were able to do, even with fewer people and resources. In the coming year, I want us to find ways to reward that effort by giving you more of what you need to better serve our community.”

“FY19 was a year our Commission, departments, and agencies committed wholeheartedly to rebuilding the fund balance and restore stability in our operations,” says County Manager Dr. Keith Moffett. “With the Commission making large policy changes that reduced expenses, and our departments and agencies doing more with less by not hiring for open positions and reducing operational expenses, we were able to end the year under budget.”

Edwards also commended Macon-Bibb for going beyond basic requirements of annual financial reporting by preparing a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) each year, and for being awarded a Certificate of Achievement from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for its FY18 CAFR. The FY19 CAFR will also be submitted for review by the GFOA.