December 4, 2006

Catawba County’s governmental audit report for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2006 shows the County continued to deliver services in a sound fiscal manner. Paula Hodges, Audit Manager of Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A., told the Catawba County Board of Commissioners that the County is in "good financial condition" at the Board's meeting on Monday morning.

Looking first at the revenue portion of the audit, County revenues increased from the prior year. Property tax revenues increased from $61,445,509 to $63,318,810, from June 30, 2005 to June 30, 2006. Property tax collection rates remain high at 96.86% and the County’s tax rate of 49 cents per $100 valuation is the 11th lowest among all 100 North Carolina counties.

On the expenditure side, human service expenditures represented the largest total operating cost of County government, 43% of total expenditures. Human service expenditures (for Mental Health Services, Public Health and Social Services) increased by 1.2% from fiscal year 2004-2005. Catawba County appropriated $32,544,711 for operating expenditures for education, or 21% of the total budget.

State and Federal funds appropriated for the County’s three human service agencies must be reflected in the audit. However, when purely local funding is considered, education received the highest percentage of County funding, 59%.

County Finance Director Rodney Miller also discussed several aspects of the County’s fund balance. A government’s fund balance, as compared to its operating expenditures, is an important benchmark used by State officials and bond rating agencies.

“The County’s total fund balance increased by $3,699,854 from fiscal year 2004-05 to fiscal 2005-2006,” Miller said. “As local economic conditions continue to improve, the County's financial picture also improves. The County has maintained a sound financial position by carefully controlling spending, despite lower than normal property tax revenues and continued pressure to meet the service demands of County citizens. The County's unreserved fund balance, as a percentage of general fund expenditures, was 15.3% on June 30, 2006, which is equal to approximately two months of operating expenses."

“There were no questioned costs as a result of the audit of the County’s Federal and State programs," Hodges concluded. "The Catawba County Board of Commissioners, Rodney Miller and his staff should be commended for their excellent work."

For more information on Catawba County's Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year 2005-2006, yuo may contact the Catawba County Finance Office at 828-465-8210.