Houston County Receives Clean Audit
Changes Made to Home-Delivered Meal Program
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – During a called meeting of the Houston County Commissioners Court, held on Tuesday, July 30, the court received the Fiscal Year 2018 audit report as information and the information was good.
Kim Johnson with the accounting firm of Todd, Hamaker and Johnson was on hand to provide an overview of the audit.
Johnson said the county received an unqualified opinion, which is the best an entity can hope for.
According to the website www.investopedia.com, an unqualified opinion “… is an independent auditor’s judgment that a company’s financial statements are fairly and appropriately presented, without any identified exceptions, and in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles.”
“I think the year looks good,” Johnson said, “despite some concern that it might not have been. The opinion letter that I have given for the audit begins on page seven and it does give the county a clean opinion.”
The auditor reported the county’s assets exceeded its liabilities “… which is always a good thing. Your net position was $6,066,000 was slightly down from last year’s position of $6,393,000. Of the amount the amount that is in that position – which is assets minus your liabilities – the county’s unrestricted position is $2,673,000. I think that is a strong unrestricted net position. That is money available to run a county. It’s not restricted for anything. It is not restricted for debt service or grants.”
As the meeting continued, an agenda item concerning the home-delivered meals program was brought forward by Houston County Auditor Melissa Jeter.
She explained the insurance companies who were paying for the service began to ask for increased credentialing including the release of personal information of the Houston County Judge, the four county commissioners, the county auditor and the director of the home delivered meal program.
The reason, Jeter explained, was because the county government was being viewed as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) and not a governmental entity. She said the meal service would not be interrupted but would now be delivered by Federal Express.
In other matters brought before the court:
- The payment of bills and expenses incurred by the county was approved.
- The court approved renewing the 2019-2020 contract plan with Blue Cross/Blue Shield for employee health insurance.
- Two cars were declared as surplus and approval was given to contract with Auctioneer Express for dispersal.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
