Audit Committee accepts Blount County's 2025 financial report after auditors flag three findings

The Blount County Audit Committee voted 3-0 Thursday to accept the county's annual financial report for the year ending June 30, 2025, after auditors presented an unmodified opinion and outlined three findings.

Elijah Wilson, who said, "my name is Elijah Wilson. I was the in-charge auditor last year of Blount County," told the committee the audit team used a multi-person approach on the engagement and that the 2025 financial statement opinion was unmodified, indicating auditors found reasonable assurance of no material misstatements. He named the audit team and said Jake served as the senior auditor on the engagement.

"We did have three findings in the 2025 report," Jake said. He summarized them as: (1) surplus property not disposed of properly; (2) competitive bids were not solicited for school transportation contracts; and (3) the director of schools office did not review software audit logs.

On the surplus-property finding, auditors described a sheriff's vehicle that was traded in toward the purchase of a new vehicle rather than being declared surplus and offered for public sale. Auditors cited the transcript reference to the county's procurement requirement (referred to in the meeting as the "57 act" or "57X statute") and said that under that statute items with an estimated value of $1,000 or greater should be declared surplus by the commission and then sold through auction or a public sale mechanism.

Committee members pressed for detail about the transportation contracts. Auditors said the school department contracts out bus routes and that their single-audit sample showed competitive bidding had not been solicited. The auditors estimated there were roughly 12 to 13 separate transportation contracts, including six that covered all bus routes for the school department, and that the contracts that exceeded bid limits aggregated to a little over $7 million. Jake said the auditors'office and the Nashville office concluded that the service should be bid going forward.

Commissioner French asked whether the statute's $1,000 threshold was still in effect; auditors confirmed that the requirement applies to county property with an estimated value of $1,000 or greater.

After the presentation and a brief question-and-answer period, a motion to accept the audit report was called and the committee recorded three yes votes; the motion carried.

The committee also addressed internal organization matters. Members agreed to postpone nominations and votes for the committee chair and vice chair until the next meeting. Staff member Mr. Baldwin said staff would coordinate with auditors on next year's work and that the next Audit Committee meeting would likely be scheduled around April'June of the following year unless a pressing need arises. The committee adjourned without objection.

The audit acceptance means the committee formally received the financial statements and audit findings; next steps include the county following up on the three findings and updating procurement practices for school transportation contracts as advised by auditors.