Auditor gives Oconee clean bill of financial health

Oconee County’s cash position stands it in good stead until new revenue begins flowing in the fall, according to the county’s latest audit. With about $14 million in its general fund, the county had about three and a half months of operating capital. Accountant Grant Davis, of the accounting firm Mauldin & Jenkins, told Council members on Tuesday. Davis’s assertion came in a report on the county’s most recent audit for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, a report Davis said had no blemishes. The county’s fund balance stands at $20.1 million, according to Davis, which is about $3.5 million less than last year. The difference, Davis said, represented some costs associated with the county’s Project FOCUS broadband project that had to be met in the short term. In the long term, the funds can be expected to be recouped from the lease payments from the private firm leasing the county’s network. The county rock quarry continues to be a profitable enterprise for the county, Davis noted, allowing the transfer of $500,000 to the county’s general fund from an overall cash flow of about $2.5 million. The only cautionary note Davis had for Council members was to develop a cyber-security risk management system for the county operations.