ALFRED — York County earned a glowing report from its auditing firm, RHR Smith, for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015.
“York County is in rock-solid financial condition,” said Ron Smith, owner of the firm, in his brief address to York County commissioners last week.
The county government as a whole carries an unassigned fund balance of $2.3 million, he said.
Smith, whose firm audits 12 of Maine’s 16 counties, said the county has historically funded capital reserve accounts, “and you can do more of that.” As of June 30, 2015, York County government had $1 million in capital reserves, he said.
And while the York County Jail is facing a potential $700,000 deficit for the current year, due in part to $400,000 in budget underfunding of overtime and inmate medical prescriptions, it was in a better position last year.
As of June 30, 2015, the jail carried a deficit of about $50,000, Smith estimated. He said he’s seen some county jail deficits as much as $500,000 in the 2015 fiscal year.
While commissioners said little about the report, it is a turnaround from 10 years ago, when the county government was $1.2 million in the red. In September 2009, 24 county workers were laid off in yet anther fiscal crisis, though many positions were restored starting the following spring.
The 2015 audit shows budgetary overspending in four areas: management and administration by $22,000; debt service by about $52,000; communications/dispatch by about $29,000; and transfers to other funds by $23,000.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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