During the course of the meeting County Judge David Saucedo opened up the topic by handing the floor over to Mr. Beyer who presented Commissioners Court a detailed rundown of the audit reports and opinion letter of the auditor over the entire scope of work conducted.
“We have audited the accompanying financial statements of the governmental activities, business type activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of Maverick County for the year ending September 30, 2016,” said Beyer. “In all, the county’s 2016 audit has a qualified opinion.”
Beyer explained how the bottom line puts the county in a better standing than in previous years, and that a qualified opinion was due to previous years and the lagging effects of those reports and financials.
“You ended up with a positive fund balance and had a surplus at the end of the year,” said Beyer.
During the course of the audit presentation Beyer covered various items in his audit reports including the independent auditors report, managements discussion and analysis, government wide financial statements, net positions, independent auditors report and activities.
Beyer explained how the county’s Summary of Debt was on track to change by the following year in a positive note.
“Last year’s audit: was it better than the year before and is this audit better than last year’s?” asked Saucedo, to which Beyer answered yes, adding that it was better only “by a hair.”
“It’s a very good audit,” said Saucedo “We’re going in the right direction. It’s saving the county money by having the report in before March 31, so that’s another step in the right direction.”
Commissioner Jerry Morales added that, according to a copy of the 2013 budget provided by the auditor’s office, the county had been able to drop the debt by a little over $10 million.
“Mr. Beyer is listing our debt at $24 million, our debt at that time in 2013 was $34 million,” said Morales. “I think it’s important for the public to know for the past four years we’ve been able to knock off over $10 million in debt. Numbers don’t lie.”
Saucedo thanked commissioners’ court for the work they’ve done.
“I know that you all take some hits sometimes. Sometimes we have to go through some hard times to get back to where we’re at, and I think this court has done that,” said Saucedo. “You all deserve the opportunity to get those services to the public that they deserve.”
Beyer proceeded to cover aspects of internal controls over financial reporting and or compliance in accordance with government auditing standards. Commissioners Court then accepted the findings in the 2016 audits conducted on the county’s financial statements.