Audit reveals three Columbus water districts under financial water

By DEUCE NIVEN

tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com

     An accounting error made on Columbus County government books in 2015 and just reconciled in a new audit for the year that ended June 30, 2022, shows three of the county’s five water districts without the resources to pay their debts.

     County commissioners accepted the long overdue audit during a called meeting Monday. Resolving the financial challenges facing Water Districts II, III and V will require commissioners to take action, auditor LeAnn Bagasala of Atlanta based Mauldin & Jenkins told the board.

     County Manager Eddie Madden said commissioners may have some difficult choices, but he did not give a timetable for resolving the issue.

Refinanced loans

     County government in 2015 refinanced loans and bond debts for the county’s water districts in a cost savings effort taking advantage of lower interest rates, Bagasala said. That debt was never assigned to the individual water districts, she said.

     As a result those districts, since 2015, have enjoyed audits indicating sound financial health, without the debt each district must ultimately pay.

     Adjustments to the 2021-2022 audit, approved by commissioners Monday, total $4.305 million for Water District II, $3.48 million for District III, and $3.615 million for District 5. That totals $11.4 million an adjustment made to the county’s debt service fund “to correct the recording of refunding of Limited Obligation Bonds,” an audit report received by the board said.

     Currently fees for all five water districts are identical, though that has not always been the case, Assistant County Manager Gail Edwards said.

     Somehow, Bagasala told commissioners, the county must “come up with a plan to make sure it is paid and the deficit is eliminated.”

     For much more on the county’s audit findings, and what’s next, see this week’s Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.