Water districts $11M debt is erased

By DEUCE NIVEN

tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com

     Big debt assigned to three of Columbus County’s five water districts during a recently completed audit will be erased in a new audit expected in the coming weeks, County Manager Eddie Madden told the Board of Commissioners Monday.

     More than $11 million in debt that resulted from refinancing for the county’s water districts in 2015 was not properly recorded until an audit for the year ending June 30, 2022 was performed by an Atlanta based firm hired to clean up the county’s books, commissioners were told during an April 29 meeting.

     County finance staff, bond counsel, and others who discovered the nearly decade-old error took a closer look as county staff considered its options, including potential rate increases to make sure the debt was retired, Madden told commissioners Monday.

     “Through their efforts, that debt will come off in 2023,” Madden told commissioners. “Properly recorded in 2022, the fund balance will no longer show in the red.”

     Madden emphasized that there will be no need for a rate increase because of what was, essentially, a paperwork error, though typical fee hikes tied to the cost of loving will continue.

     For more on this story, and more good news on county finance, see this week’s (May 22) Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.