Each year, Nevada County is required to undergo a Comprehensive Annual Financial Audit by an outside agency and once again this year, the County has come back with a positive report. Nevada County Auditor Controller Marcia Salter says the external auditors report assures that the county has met all the internal controls and risk assessments, and insures the information in the county budget is reliable.
Going into the 2011 – 2012 fiscal year, which was the subject of the audit, the county budget expenditures were projected at $ 172.8-million dollars but actual expenditures were closer to $170 -million.
Nevada County property tax revenue dropped last year with property values. Salter says property tax revenue was off by $4 million, a loss which was not factored into the budget.
The County audit reveals $62.6 million dollars in debt from various leases, loans and accrued claims, putting the county debt down by $10.4 million from the previous year. Salter says Nevada County is in good standing as it has maintained a budget surplus that currently stands at $19 millionat the end of last fiscal year.
Nevada County’s unfunded liability which represents future pension costs for retirees is roughly $86 million. According to Cal PERS equations, Nevada County has 75 percent of that liability funded under current actuarial valuation which projects long term growth of 7.75 percent. Salter says the County has made 100% of its payments required under the CalPERS funding plan. The Unfunded Liability is a result of the actuarial valuation and market values of investments with the CalPERS Retirement Fund portfolio. The county has also negotiated agreements with it’s bargaining units to reduce the unfunded liability in the future.
A copy of the 250 page audit is available at this website
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