ATLANTA — The Montmorency County Board of Commissioners received a good audit report from Mark Sandula of Straley, Lamp, and Kraenzlein on Wednesday. The audit covered the county’s finances in 2017.

Sandula said the county spent $4,250,184 in 2017 and said the fund balance fell by $318,497 rom 2016.

Fund balances are used to cover expenses when income can’t.

“That is 150 days of expenditures,” Sandula said of the fund balance.

The pension liability for the county is currently at $9.7 million. He said post-employment benefits went up by $1 million.

“I included the form that the state wants to track the pension liability and the bottom line is that the county has an unfunded liability of more than 10 percent of the overall county revenue,” Sandula said.

Sandula said the state gets concerned when counties get near the 10 percent of overall revenue.

“Montmorency County, though, is in pretty good shape, as far as that is concerned,” he said.

“The county isn’t rich by any stretch of the imagination, but you’re not poor either,” Sandula said. “You’re in a pretty good place as far as where we are financially.”

Board Chair Daryl Peterson said the county has to do better with completing items for the audit report because items were turned in at the last minute this year.

He said the county is in good shape right now.

“We’ve held our own,” Peterson said. “Right now, we’re not borrowing money for anything and that’s saving us a ton of money. In that respect, we’re OK.”

Julie Goldberg can be reached via email at jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688.