Newton County auditor gives clean opinion; finance director cites strong fund balance

David Irwin of Malden Jenkins told the Newton County Board of Commissioners on March 17 that his firm is issuing an unmodified (clean) opinion on the county’s FY25 financial statements and on the required single-audit report for federal expenditures, which totaled about $52.3 million in the fiscal year. He said auditors found no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control and noted full cooperation from county staff.

"For a county of your size, achieving both a clean opinion and no audit findings is a significant accomplishment," Irwin said, praising finance staff and urging the board to review the management discussion and analysis for context behind the numbers.

Finance Director Britney White and Irwin walked the board through key figures: total assets and deferred outflows around $548 million (including approximately $300 million in capital assets), total revenues about $229 million (an increase of roughly $6 million from the prior year), and expenses of about $182 million (a decrease of about $17 million). Irwin said the county ended the year with an entity-wide net position of about $387.4 million, an increase of roughly $46.1 million.

At the fund level, Irwin noted the general fund recorded approximately $99.4 million in revenues and $95.6 million in expenditures, leaving a general fund balance near $58.2 million—roughly seven months of operating expenditures. He said that level of liquidity gives the county flexibility to manage seasonal cash-flow fluctuations and unanticipated emergencies.

Commissioners pressed auditors on specific funds. Irwin said the revenue composition is typical for comparable counties but singled out the solid-waste enterprise fund as an area for periodic review: it recorded an operating loss of about $1.3 million that was offset by roughly $1.7 million in transfers in. "We recommend you look at ways to either increase revenues, reduce expenses, or a combination of the two to improve the solid-waste fund’s financial position," he said.

Board members acknowledged the favorable audit while noting continuing budget pressures and the need to balance services with tax impacts. The board received the audit presentation with no findings and heard that the county will continue routine monitoring of enterprise fund performance.

The board had no formal follow-up vote beyond receiving the audit presentation; commissioners asked staff to ensure key charts and the MD&A remain accessible to the public.