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The Giles County Fund Balance Update

todayOctober 3, 2024 126

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This update By County Executive Graham Stowe is provided per the Giles County Fund Balance Policy.

The Fiscal Year 23/24 original budget was $19.1 Million 45% of that amount is $8.61 Million, which is the threshold figure that drives whether there are Residual Funds to plus-up Fund 171 (Capital Projects).

We currently hold $8.56 Million in Fund Balance, consequently there are no Residual Funds this year. We remain well within our Target Fund Balance at 44.7%.

The Fiscal Year 23/24 budget was a 7.1% increase over the previous year, necessitated by inflation. Due to our Fund Balance Policy, the Fund Balance increased. As previously discussed, the policy ensures the Fund Balance automatically indexes for inflationary increases.

There were several variables impacting Fund Balance over the last year, the largest unforeseen expenditures were $103,000 for a Solid Waste backhoe, $128,000 for Sheriff tasers/bodycams, and $175,000 for an ambulance remount. Together our unanticipated Fund Balance expenditures totaled nearly $436,000.

Our opinion is that we still need improvement on forecasting “pop-up” needs, along with greater discipline to prioritize and fund those needs through the Project Optimization Board.

In February of this year we established the POP Board – a process to identify our looming needs before they become financial crises. We believe rigorous attention to this process will be helpful in reducing our longstanding dependence on Fund Balance as the “relief valve” for crisis spending.

The county needs a facility maintenance plan, along with funding to execute that plan. We strongly recommend the Commission reconsider our need for a Capital Maintenance Plan.

We need an enterprise-wide analysis to identify emerging maintenance needs, along with a plan to allocate resources for the long-term sustainment of our aging facilities.

Written by: Ed Carter

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