Macon County Transit had a “red flag” related to cash controls in its annual financial audit, according to a presentation made at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 13.
Claire Chase of Martin Starnes & Associates of Hickory made the presentation, saying the finding was for “lack of controls over cash controls for a department in the county where there were inherit limitations to the segregation of duties among personnel related to cash receipts.”
According to County Finance Director Lori M. Carpenter in a follow-up email later in the week, the finding came from the transit department.
Carpenter added that the corrective action plan in the compliance letters of the audit states, “There will always be two employees [to] check and count all incoming cash collections. There will be a camera installed where all funds are kept. Incoming collections will be checked and verified with reports from the software MCT uses. The cash handling policy and procedures will be used at all times, and it will be enforced.”
Carpenter declined to offer further explanation, saying it’s a personnel matter. Carpenter also said she could not provide a full copy of the audit at this time, saying it can’t be publicly released until it’s approved by the Local Government Commission. The presentation to the commissioners on Dec. 13 was a PowerPoint presentation of audit highlights and no vote was held.
The “red flag” was the only finding for the 2022 county audit.
In other audit highlights presented, the fund balance increased more than $6 million from $37,876,856 to $44,045,359 from 2021 to 2022. Out of that, $38,357,651 is available fund balance, an increase from 2021’s $32,617,937.
General fund summary revenues went up from $57,520,250 to $61,147,870 and expenditures went up from $49,955,524 to $52,204515.
Ad valorem taxes account for 55% of general fund revenue, with 21% coming from local option sales tax. The top expenditures are public safety at 33%, human services and at 22% and education at 20%. Commissioner Josh Young asked if those numbers were comparable to other counties, to which Chase said yes.
Chase said the audit was reported in a timely manner, there’s stable tax collection and that she enjoyed working with the Macon County staff.
In other notes from the three-plus-hour Dec. 13 meeting:
New board chair Paul Higdon took appointing 2023 commission liaison assignments off the agenda, delaying appointments until January. Higdon said when new board members are elected, it’s akin to being thrown onto a snowball that’s rolling down the hill, so the staff have worked on a proposed liaison appointment list. Higdon added that the list will include which liaison positions are required by law and which ones are not. “We’re not saying we’re doing away with any liaison position, but we’re seeing what is physically required by law,” Higdon said.
Later in the meeting, Commissioner Gary Shields made a presentation to encourage utilizing a liaison application process. Shields said he spoke with Vaya Health leadership and said he will submit his liaison application to them for approval and will report back in January. Shields said the application process will allow a commissioner to become familiar with a board before being appointed to it. The commissioner liaison position for Vaya Health was previously held by Ronnie Beale, who was not re-elected.
The board unanimously approved to enter a contract to start construction on a “bus barn” awning at the transit department parking facility. Transit Director Darlene Asher said the cost is $254,000. The project is funded federally, and the county pays 20%, which was previously approved in June. It was explained during discussion that previous bids came in nearly twice as high as the approved bid.
The commissioners received a “handbook” to serve as a reference tool “to help navigate the job of being a commissioner.” Higdon said this had been a “personal desire” of his for some time.
The board approved 10-year leases with Sutton Broadcasting Corporation and Blue Ridge Broadcasting Corporation for use of tower space on the Cowee Bald Electronics Site. Emergency Services Director Warren Cabe told the board that due to ownership changes, the lease last year was only for one year, but that a 10-year lease is common. This contract includes an “escalator” which raises the fee each year for inflation and anticipated costs. Cabe said it costs $7,800 a year to operate the site, which the county leases from the U.S. Forest Service and can sublease to private entities. Currently, the subleases bring in more than $11,000 a year, which will increase in the coming years. Young proposed a five-year contract instead, but the response was that it was difficult to find new space if needed within five years.
After a 14-minute closed session to start the meeting, the board unanimously approved $13,392 be taken from contingency to make payment to the retirement system for an injured employee who is attempting to purchase retirement credit he lost while out injured.
The board approved a community transportation program application as presented by Transit Director Darlene Asher. The grant would be for six replacement vehicles, plus propane kits, 10 new radio systems, two desktop computers, a laptop and projector at a cost of $674,392. The grant includes a 20% county match at $137,879. All the vehicles to be replaced are over the mileage life with some over 180,000 miles, Asher stated.
Mark Berry and Jean Owen were reappointed for three-year terms on the county planning board. Carlos Vargas was approved to join the Board of Health to fill the unexpired term of Jennifer Knoepp, who moved out of the county, through December 2024. Anne Hyder was retroactively reapproved for a three-year term on the Social Services board starting back in July.
The updated Macon County Public Health Billing Guide got unanimous approval. This also included a vote to allow the health department to adjust fees for the next year following a rigid methodology without having to bring it to the county commissioners. The fee schedule will still need yearly approval. Public Health Director Kathy McGaha said the fees and billing are determined by how much the equipment costs. McGaha added that another change is that the sliding fee discount for general dental services for children comes with a maximum discount of 50%, which she said would make the program self-sufficient.
The board approved for Community Care Clinic to lease office space in the health department through the end of the fiscal year, funded by a grant. The free lease is for the nonprofit free clinic that focuses on uninsured patients below the poverty line.
The board approved an in-kind donation of two office spaces in the courthouse from Mountain Mediation Services to Sylva-based HIGHTS. According to Gabrielle Grant, executive director of Mountain Mediation Services, the organization is dissolving effective Dec. 31, 2022, after 28 years of service. Grant said due to funding cuts and lack of referrals for district court criminal court mediation, they could no longer sustain adult mediation services.
The next regular Board of Commissioners meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the Courthouse.