Gloucester County board accepts FY2025 audit showing $31.5 million fund balance

The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors voted to accept the independent fiscal year 2025 audit after a presentation by auditors from Robinson Farmer Cox.

Robinson Farmer Cox presenter Mr. Hawkins told the board the firm’s "opinion is unmodified," indicating the auditors found the county’s financial statements materially correct. He said the county ended the year with about $31,500,000 in fund balance and that roughly $28.2 million of that was unassigned. The auditor reported no findings in internal control testing and no federal compliance findings.

The acceptance followed a public comment from Theresa Altimus, a Gloucester Point resident, who said she received the audit packet at 5:59 p.m. the night of the meeting and urged the board to make audit materials available earlier so citizens can review them. "I do not understand as a responsibility to the citizens of this county that you accept an audit of the county's finances without reading it prior to receiving it tonight," Altimus said during public comment.

Board members moved and seconded the resolution accepting the auditor’s report; the motion carried after members responded in the affirmative during roll-call-style acknowledgment.

Why it matters: An unmodified opinion signals auditors believe the county’s financial statements are reliable. The audit also informs budget planning and borrowing capacity; public access to audit materials is a transparency issue raised at the meeting.

What’s next: The resolution accepting the audit will be spread upon the minutes as part of the official record. The board did not indicate further action on Altimus’s request for earlier public posting during this meeting.