County audit returns unmodified opinion; auditors and finance director flag long-term liabilities
August 21, 2025 | Barnstable County, Massachusetts
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The Barnstable County annual comprehensive financial report for fiscal year 2024 received an unmodified audit opinion, auditor Romina Mamelli of CBIZ told the Assembly of Delegates on Aug. 20, 2025. Mamelli said the auditors found no material weaknesses or reportable findings in county financial statements or in the schedule of federal awards.
While the audit was clean, the presentation and follow-up by county finance staff stressed several long-term liabilities and the need for sustained funding policies. The review covered federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) obligations, the county’s OPEB and pension liabilities, deferred maintenance and projected capital and operating costs the county will need to sustain once one-time funds expire.
Romina Mamelli, director at CBIZ, summarized audit outcomes and federal award results. “The county received an unmodified opinion,” Mamelli said, and noted the major audited figures for retirement and other post-employment benefits. She reported an OPEB actuarial liability of about $18.3 million as of June 30, 2024, with the county’s OPEB trust holding roughly $4.3 million and an actuarial discount rate of 6.5 percent cited in the FY24 valuation. For pension obligations, CBIZ reported the county’s share of the net pension liability at about $58.6 million (system funded at roughly 66.6 percent as of Dec. 31, 2023); county staff said the Barnstable County Retirement Association’s funding plan targets full funding in the 2030s.
Auditors also summarized ARPA activity. Mamelli said the county received approximately $43 million in ARPA funds that had to be obligated by Dec. 26, 2024; of nearly $9.4 million in ARPA expenditures recorded through the audit period, $2.3 million was passed through to subrecipients. She reminded delegates that ARPA-funded projects must be spent by program deadlines and that the county’s ARPA spending will affect future annual financial plans.
Finance Director Carol Coppola presented an 11-year financial review and highlighted strong reserves and persistent fiscal pressures. Coppola said the county’s total reserves have grown to about $42.4 million, with stabilization funds accounting for roughly $33.8 million of that total. She said the county’s average annual operating surplus over recent years is about $4.15 million, a figure driven in part by deed-excise revenues tied to the real estate market. Coppola warned that those real-estate-driven revenues are unlikely to recur at the same pace and that ARPA funds are winding down. She noted long-term liabilities and capital needs including a pension balance (reported in the audit) and a deferred maintenance backlog she cited at roughly $71 million based on a county master plan.
During questions, Mamelli explained an audit planning item that often alarms lay readers: “management override of internal control is on every audit that we do,” she said, and described it as a standard audit risk assessment procedure that auditors test for in every financial statement audit. Delegates and staff asked for follow-up details on fiscal exposures; Coppola said the county will provide a forward-looking financial presentation to the commissioners in October and can supply line-item breakout of continuing personnel and capital costs that were temporarily funded with ARPA.
There were no votes tied to the audit presentation; the auditors issued the FY24 report and departments continue routine budget and grant-management work. County staff emphasized the need for sustained fiscal planning to address pensions, OPEB, PFAS remediation and deferred building maintenance once one-time funds are exhausted.
While the audit was clean, the presentation and follow-up by county finance staff stressed several long-term liabilities and the need for sustained funding policies. The review covered federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) obligations, the county’s OPEB and pension liabilities, deferred maintenance and projected capital and operating costs the county will need to sustain once one-time funds expire.
Romina Mamelli, director at CBIZ, summarized audit outcomes and federal award results. “The county received an unmodified opinion,” Mamelli said, and noted the major audited figures for retirement and other post-employment benefits. She reported an OPEB actuarial liability of about $18.3 million as of June 30, 2024, with the county’s OPEB trust holding roughly $4.3 million and an actuarial discount rate of 6.5 percent cited in the FY24 valuation. For pension obligations, CBIZ reported the county’s share of the net pension liability at about $58.6 million (system funded at roughly 66.6 percent as of Dec. 31, 2023); county staff said the Barnstable County Retirement Association’s funding plan targets full funding in the 2030s.
Auditors also summarized ARPA activity. Mamelli said the county received approximately $43 million in ARPA funds that had to be obligated by Dec. 26, 2024; of nearly $9.4 million in ARPA expenditures recorded through the audit period, $2.3 million was passed through to subrecipients. She reminded delegates that ARPA-funded projects must be spent by program deadlines and that the county’s ARPA spending will affect future annual financial plans.
Finance Director Carol Coppola presented an 11-year financial review and highlighted strong reserves and persistent fiscal pressures. Coppola said the county’s total reserves have grown to about $42.4 million, with stabilization funds accounting for roughly $33.8 million of that total. She said the county’s average annual operating surplus over recent years is about $4.15 million, a figure driven in part by deed-excise revenues tied to the real estate market. Coppola warned that those real-estate-driven revenues are unlikely to recur at the same pace and that ARPA funds are winding down. She noted long-term liabilities and capital needs including a pension balance (reported in the audit) and a deferred maintenance backlog she cited at roughly $71 million based on a county master plan.
During questions, Mamelli explained an audit planning item that often alarms lay readers: “management override of internal control is on every audit that we do,” she said, and described it as a standard audit risk assessment procedure that auditors test for in every financial statement audit. Delegates and staff asked for follow-up details on fiscal exposures; Coppola said the county will provide a forward-looking financial presentation to the commissioners in October and can supply line-item breakout of continuing personnel and capital costs that were temporarily funded with ARPA.
There were no votes tied to the audit presentation; the auditors issued the FY24 report and departments continue routine budget and grant-management work. County staff emphasized the need for sustained fiscal planning to address pensions, OPEB, PFAS remediation and deferred building maintenance once one-time funds are exhausted.
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