May 15, 1998
CITIZENS OF LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO
We submit, for your information and review, the Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report of Larimer County, Colorado, for the year
ended December 31, 1997.
This report was prepared by the Department of Accounting and Reporting
of the County's Division of Financial Services. The responsibility
for both the accuracy of the presented data and the completeness
and fairness of the presentation, including all disclosures, rests
with the County. To the best of our knowledge the data, as presented,
is accurate in all material aspects; is presented in a manner
designed to fairly set forth the financial activity and results
of operations of the County as measured by the financial activity
of its various funds; and all disclosures necessary to enable
the reader to gain maximum understanding of the County's financial
affairs have been included. The organization, form and content
of the report conform to the standards of the Governmental Accounting
Standards Board, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants,
the Government Finance Officers Association and the Colorado State
Auditor.
The intended purposes of the report are to:
The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is divided into four
sections with the intent to meet the needs of a variety of users:
Introductory Section includes the table
of contents, this transmittal letter, a reproduction of the Certificate
of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded to
Larimer County for our 1996 CAFR, a listing of the County's principal
officials and an organization chart.
Financial Section consists of the combined
General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS) which provide an overview
for those who are interested in lessdetailed information
about the County's financial position. Following the GPFS are
detailed exhibits and schedules applicable to the individual funds
and account groups of the County. Descriptions of the nature
and purpose of the various fund types and account groups are provided
in the Notes to Financial Statements and individual fund descriptions
are provided throughout the remainder of the Financial Section.
Statistical Section contains comprehensive
statistical data relating to Larimer County. This section is
designed to provide the user with a broader and more complete
understanding of the County's financial history and trends over
the tenyear period 1988 through 1997. Also included is
social and economic data that will be of value to those desiring
nonfinancial information about the County.
Single Audit Schedules -- includes a schedule of the County's
federal financial assistance programs and various independent
auditors' reports thereon, necessary to comply with the Single
Audit Act of 1984.
Larimer County is located in north central Colorado. It is the
seventh largest county in Colorado, both in area and population.
The County extends to the Continental Divide and covers 2,640
square miles that encompasses some of the finest irrigated farmland
in the state, as well as vast stretches of scenic ranch lands,
forests and high mountain peaks. Over 50% of Larimer County is
publicly owned, most of which is land within Roosevelt National
Forest and Rocky Mountain National Park. County population totals
226,084. Approximately 29% of County citizens reside in unincorporated
areas. Larimer contains six incorporated towns, with Fort Collins
(pop. 100,000) and Loveland (pop. 45,000) being the largest.
Larimer County provides the full range of services contemplated
by State Statute. Services include judicial and public safety
consisting of the Sheriff, District Attorney, operation and maintenance
of the detention center, and building inspection; planning and
zoning; property valuation; tax collection and distribution; vehicle
licensing; construction, reconstruction and maintenance of streets,
highways and bridges; health, employment and social services;
parks and recreation; and general administrative services.
This report includes all activities for which the Board of County
Commissioners is accountable to the citizens of Larimer County,
financially or by state statute, in accordance with Governmental
Accounting Standards Boards (GASB) Statement 14, "The Financial
Reporting Entity". All applicable funds, organizations,
institutions, agencies, departments and offices, which are not
separate legal entities, are included in these financial statements
as part of the "primary government" of Larimer County.
The County considers several entities as "component units"
under governmental accounting standards. Although legally separate,
the entities have significant operational or financial relationships
with the County. The Larimer County Pest Control District, and
numerous general improvement districts are blended component units.
The Public Trustee is a discretely presented component unit.
Therefore, the County's financial statements also include these
entities.
Larimer County has joined with nineteen other local governments
to form the Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority (LETA), and
has joined with the City of Fort Collins to purchase and manage
property known as Block 31. Larimer County's relationship in
these two organizations, referred to as a jointly governed organization
and a joint operation, respectively, is discussed in the Notes
to Financial Statements. LETA is a separate legal entity and
issues its own financial statements. Larimer County reports the
receipt and distribution of funds received on behalf of LETA in
an agency fund to demonstrate our fiduciary responsibility to
the entity.
Larimer County has a diversified economy ranging from agriculture
in the eastern part of the County to the high mountain tourist
and recreational areas of Rocky Mountain National Park in the
western area. In between these two extremes are major manufacturing,
industrial, and technology facilities, as well as a strong retail
base. Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins, is
highly recognized for its veterinary medicine teaching hospital
as well as its other research facilities. Loveland, and in particular
Estes Park, benefit greatly from the tourist industry. Loveland
is located on the main highway leading to Rocky Mountain National
Park. Estes Park is situated at the immediate east entrance of
the Park. Fort Collins, the County seat, is the regional shopping
area for the northeastern section of Colorado, southern Wyoming
and western Nebraska.
Economic Condition
Colorado's economy was vigorous in 1997. Growth occurred in almost
all sectors of the economy. Unemployment plunged to 3.3%, the
lowest level ever recorded in the state. Job growth was 4%, and
occurred in both service-producing and goods-producing industries.
Wages increased and welfare caseloads dropped significantly.
Single family home construction grew at a solid 5%, while non-residential
construction topped 22.3%.
Larimer County, with its diverse economic base, was a major contributor
to the state's robust economy. County-wide building permits reached
a record high. Cost of construction rose from $425 million in
1996 to $461 million in 1997 for an increase of 8.4%. Estimated
real property values for residential, commercial and industrial,
agricultural and natural resources and non-taxable increased an
average of 5% or $7 billion dollars. Larimer County's unemployment
rate of 3.2% was below the state average and national averages.
Taxable retail sales rose by 7.7%.
Along with much of the front range of Colorado, Larimer County
is experiencing steady population growth as well. Between 1980
and 1990, County population increased by about 37,000. In the
seven years since 1990, another 40,000 people now call Larimer
County home. School enrollment increased by 19% during the same
period. The State Demographer projects almost 240,000 total population
by the year 2000.
The State's economy, as well as the County's, is expected to remain
healthy throughout the remainder of the decade. Growth is anticipated
in construction, advanced technology, communications, financial
services, tourism, and service industries. These industries,
especially advanced technology, will fuel an increase in high-wage
jobs. The rate of growth may slow somewhat over its current frantic
pace, due to scarcity of available labor and increasing costs.
As in past years, 1997 was a year during which the County implemented
many new and innovative ideas, projects and programs. Some of
these activities are highlighted below.
New Facilities
The Larimer County Courthouse was built in 1954 when the population
of the County was 50,000. In 1969, as the population neared 90,000,
an addition was built. Population has now more than doubled since
1969, while County owned facilities to meet these needs have not
increased significantly. Crowded, inadequate, and unsafe conditions
exist in some buildings, especially in areas related to law enforcement
and justice.
The County placed a facilities funding question on the November
1996 ballot. Entitled Project SAFE, the ballot issue addressed
the most critical of the County's building needs. The issue called
for a twenty-year .43 of 1% sales tax to fund expansion and operation
of a expanded jail; justice centers in Fort Collins and Loveland;
remodeling of the existing courthouse in Fort Collins; and a sheriff's
administration building. The ballot proposal did not pass, but
did win 40% approval with the voters. Using input from voters,
the County restructured the facilities project and returned it
to the ballot in 1997. Voters indicated that the 1996 ballot question
was too complex; therefore the 1997 ballot contained two separate
issues. Both issues were passed by the voters in November 1997.
The first approved issue was a .2% seventeen-year sales tax increase
for expansion of the County's detention center. This 65,000 square
feet addition will almost double the County's existing 309 inmate
capacity. A portion of the .2% tax will go towards operation
and maintenance of the new facility. The second ballot issue
increased sales tax by an additional .2% for the construction
of several judicial facilities. These include: 1) a new County
courthouse building of approximately 151,300 square feet to include
14 courtrooms; 2) a sheriff's headquarters building to house
radio dispatch, patrol, and administration offices; 3) a small
courthouse in Loveland, and renovation of the existing Loveland
offices; and 4) renovation of the County's administrative offices
in Fort Collins. All are scheduled for completion over the next
three years.
The County issued $71,010,000 in certificates of participation
(COPs) in March of 1998 to finance the facility projects. The
insured COPs received an A1 underlying debt rating from Moody's
Investors Service, and an A+ from Standard & Poor's. The
average yield on the debt is 4.89%.
Planning Division
Completion of the Larimer County Master Plan was a major accomplishment
of the Planning Division in 1997. As a part of the Partnership
Land Use System (PLUS), the Master Plan provides policy direction
for land use and development in the unincorporated area of Larimer
County. The next phase of PLUS is completion of a unified Land
Use Code to help implement the Master Plan.
Development of the Master Plan involved input from hundreds of
citizens over a period of more than three years. Major innovations
of the Plan include required clustering of new rural subdivisions
to provide up to 80% open space and principles for protection
of sensitive natural areas such as wetlands and important wildlife
habitat. Adequate public facilities will be required for new
development and impact fees will help new development contribute
its fair share to expansion of needed facilities. Larimer County
received the Governor's "Smart Growth Award" in 1997
for developing innovative land use management tools.
Health and Human Services Division
Developing strategies for implementing changes brought about by
Federal and State welfare reform legislation was a major emphasis
of the County in 1997. The Board of County Commissioners created
a division of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes
the departments of Health and Environment, Mental Health, Employment
and Training, Community Corrections, Community Services, and Extension.
HHS directors met regularly to recommend County values for welfare
reform, plan methods for client and employer input, and begin
the back-breaking work of implementation details. The County philosophy
ultimately included tight collaboration, a one-stop concept for
client access, intense line-staff input, and strong emphasis upon
community building for job retention.
The one-step client access concept began with centers in Loveland
and Fort Collins. These centers are staffed by ETS/Community
Services, and include Mental Health workers who have drug and
alcohol counseling expertise. The mental health workers also
provide training to case managers and technicians which help them
in identifying client problems.
The community building piece of Larimer's Welfare Reform plan
also started in 1997. There is no doubt that people can get jobs,
but Larimer believes that the real work is to help clients create
their own community network so that they are less likely to come
back into the system. The County created a unit dedicated to
matching community sponsors with clients. Sponsors can give time,
money, or other in-kind services; they can be churches, businesses,
civic organizations, or individuals. They might fix cars, provide
day care, tutor students, or pay for classes. After the County
matches the client with the sponsor, it steps out of the way so
that the Community can take over.
Because welfare public policy is seldom based upon real data,
the County intends to partner with Colorado State University and
others to evaluate which of these interventions are working and
what changes need to be made in the future to best invest the
County's welfare dollars.
Fleet Services
The Fleet Services Department maintains County vehicles, including
heavy equipment, emergency response vehicles and passenger vehicles.
During 1997, Fleet completed upgrades which added three refueling
sites to the County's fuel management system. The automated fuel
system controls dispensing of fuel and tracks information about
the transaction. It is activated by a "memory key"
which is issued to each vehicle driver. The memory key has a
programmable chip containing driver and vehicle information.
To obtain fuel the driver enters the key and the requested password
and mileage information. The fuel system sends the transactions
by fiber optics to a central controller. Each night, this data
is complied into reports which show fuel use by vehicle and department
as well as usage by site and the fuel inventory. This system
helps the County track and manage the usage of vehicles, as well
as ensuring that there is sufficient fuel at each fueling site.
Open Lands
1997 saw continued acquisition of public lands through the County's
Open Lands Program. The Program purchases or protects land for
open space and wildlife habitats. Trails and recreational areas
are developed on portions of the land. Funded by a .25% dedicated
sales tax, the program acquired two key properties in 1997. The
first property is located along the scenic ridgeline that flanks
the Fort Collins-Loveland urban corridor. The second property
adds 177 acres to the existing recreational lands around Pinewood
Reservoir. Also in 1997, the Open Lands staff organized several
educational events designed to inform local landowners on topics
such as conservation easements and preserving family lands.
Flood Waters
On July 29, 1997, a devastating flood hit Fort Collins in Larimer
County. Although County roads, foothills park trails and neighborhoods
outside the city's limits suffered some damage, the worst of the
flood was felt in Fort Collins. Five people lost their lives
as a result of the flood. Emergency agencies from throughout
the area responded immediately with the County's Emergency Management
Services Unit through the Sheriff's office and the Health and
Human Services Division in full response. In addition, County
crews cleared and opened County roads, and Mental Health and Community
Services, among other departments, assisted flood victims.
For the first time in our history, on July 30, 1997, the Larimer
County Board of Commissioners declared a "Local Emergency"
paving the way for agencies and residents to file for State and
Federal aid. Larimer County immediately created a web page on
the County's web site, the Virtual Courthouse, to disseminate
information. The County's Health Department provided information
on safe drinking water, food safety, appropriate immunizations
and other hazards. The Extension office and the Road and Bridge
departments provided timely information. The County's Landfill
offered free drop-offs for flood debris. The Employment and Training
Services department developed an outreach plan for those who had
lost their jobs due to the flood.
Weeks after the flood many residents were still in need of assistance.
Larimer County played a key role in staffing a flood-relief center.
Knowing that there were elderly residents who had suffered home
damage and for a variety of reasons had not asked for help, the
Community Services department responded with a target campaign
to aid these people. The County's Building department worked
for months after the flood with residents of rural neighborhoods
on drainage issues. County staff worked long hours with Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Fort Collins officials
to receive needed aid. Nearly a year later the County continues
work on repairs to foothills park trails.
TABOR Amendment
Local government has a major challenge in providing the programs
and services desired by its residents or mandated by a higher
level of government within increasingly constrained resources.
Larimer County, along with all local governments in Colorado,
has the additional challenge of providing these programs and services
within the provisions of the 1992 TABOR ("Taxpayer's Bill
of Rights") State constitutional amendment. The amendment
limits increases in property tax and most other state and local
government revenues to inflation as defined by the Denver/Boulder
area Consumer Price Index and a factor for local growth in real
property values, and freezes all state and local government mill
levies and tax yields at a maximum of their 1992 rate, unless
an increase is approved by the voters.
This is the fourth year under the provisions of the TABOR Amendment and the County has managed its budget within the constraints. However, concern is high over the long-term impacts it may have on the provision of services. Because the Amendment also restricts when elections can take place, sufficient funding may also fall behind when the real need exists.
Impact of Growth
Colorado's health economy is a mixed blessing to Larimer County.
Along with the benefits of growth, the County is experiencing
an increasing demand for services as well as intensifying pressure
on existing infrastructure and facilities. The County is implementing
a myriad of approaches to manage growth and respond to new demands.
These include construction of new facilities, innovative land
use planning and creation of special districts. Several of these
strategies are discussed in the remainder of this letter.
Internal Control Structure
In developing and maintaining the County's accounting system,
consideration is given to the adequacy of the internal control
structure to the extent considered necessary to rely on the data
generated by that system. The objective of an internal control
structure is to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance
as to the safeguarding of assets against loss from unauthorized
use or disposition, and the reliability of financial records for
preparing financial statements and maintaining accountability
for assets. The concept of reasonable assurance recognizes that
the cost of a system of internal control should not exceed the
benefits derived, and the evaluation of these factors necessarily
requires estimates and judgments by management. All internal control
structure evaluations occur within the above framework. We believe
that the County's internal control structure adequately safeguards
assets and provides reasonable assurance of proper recording of
financial transactions.
Budgetary Control
The County adopts annual budgets by department for all governmental
and proprietary funds, and the Public Trustee component unit.
Budgets are requested and adopted on a lineitem basis and
controlled by the major object classifications of Operating Costs
and Capital Outlay. The Operating Cost category, in addition
to personnel and other operating expenditures and expenses, includes
intergovernmental and debt service payments, and operating transfers
to other funds. Control is maintained by the two categories at
the division/department level in the General Fund and at the fund
level in all other funds. Supplemental appropriations are approved
by the Board of County Commissioners as needed during the year
to provide for those items that were unknown or unforeseen at
the time the budget was originally adopted. In 1997, one supplemental
appropriation was adopted.
Encumbrance accounting is employed as an extension of formal budgetary
integration. Purchase orders, contracts and commitments are recorded
in order to reserve that portion of the applicable appropriation.
Encumbrances outstanding at year-end are canceled.
General Governmental Functions
Revenues. The following schedule presents a summary of
governmental fund (General, Special Revenue, Debt Service, and
Capital Projects Funds) revenues for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1997; and the amount and percentage of increases
and decreases in relation to prior year revenues.
Taxes and intergovernmental revenues continue to be the major
sources of County revenues. Overall, total governmental fund revenues
posted a gain of 7.39% in 1997. The "Charges for services"
revenue category had the highest percentage increase. This increase
is primarily attributed to inmate housing, building inspection
and mental health fees.
Revenues from assessments declined 16.57% from 1996, because there
were no new special assessments levied in 1997 and several old
assessments were completed. The formation of special assessment
districts has historically provided Larimer County with an effective
alternative to increased property taxes for road construction
or other capital improvements. Bonds are sold to finance the
improvements within a specified geographical area, and the bonds
are then repaid over a number of years by levying assessments
on the properties benefiting from the improvements. Certain provisions
of the TABOR Amendment require a favorable vote of the property
owners within the district for bonds to be sold and assessments
to be levied.
Expenditures. The schedule below summarizes governmental
fund (General, Special Revenue, Debt Service, and Capital Projects
Funds) expenditures for fiscal years 1997 and 1996.
Expenditures for 1997 totaled $99.6 million, a 6.90% increase
over 1996. As in past years, health and human services was the
largest single category ($35,799,178), representing over one-third
of governmental fund expenditures.
The largest percentage increases in expenditures between 1996
and 1997 occurred in debt service, capital outlay, and judicial
and public safety categories. The increase in debt service was
due to normal fluctuations in debt service schedules for special
assessments and capital leases. As would be anticipated, capital
outlay expenditures vary from year to year. Purchases of land
under the County's open lands program accounted for the majority
of the increase in capital outlay. In 1997, a number of positions
were added to the Sheriff's office and salaries were increased
significantly, bringing them in line with salaries of other jurisdictions
in the area. This change accounted for the majority of increased
spending for judicial and public safety.
General Fund
The County's general fund balance was $6.8 million as of December
31, 1997. Of this amount, $17,518 is reserved for pre-paid expenditures,
and $348,254 is reserved for emergencies, as required by the TABOR
Amendment. The remaining $6.4 million is designated by the Board
for subsequent year's expenditures and other future purposes.
The total fund balance is 18% of 1997 general fund operating
expenditures plus net operating transfers. The 1997 fund balance
is $1.75 million (35%) higher than the 1996 balance. The County
Commissioners' goal is to keep fund balance within the 10% - 15%
range. The Board anticipates using some fund balance in 1998
for high priority expenditures.
Proprietary Operations
Enterprise Fund. Larimer County maintains a single enterprise
fund, the Solid Waste Fund, which accounts for the County's landfill
and recycling operations. The landfill received between 700 and
750 tons of refuse per day in 1997.
The landfill cashiering and accounting system was replaced with
a program designed specifically to account for landfill volumes
and revenue. This coincided with the replacement of the main
gatehouse after more than 20 years of use. A small, dirt-floor
building that can be used for a variety of projects completed
the facility upgrade. The Household Hazardous Waste Program continued
strong in 1997, developing an educational video which plays on
local television and in classrooms and public presentations.
The Hazardous Waste program branched out to conditionally exempt,
small quantity generators (CESQG) of business hazardous waste.
Over 200 businesses were served by the program in 1997.
The landfill's largest customer, a commercial trash hauler, began
diverting 100% of their waste to their own landfill. This was
a big and difficult change in revenue which will challenge the
landfill for years to come. With the current expected life of
the landfill at eight years, a Solid Waste Task Force was established
to research future alternatives. They will continue working in
1998. A long-term liability to pay for closure and post closure
care costs in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency
requirements has been recorded in the Solid Waste Fund.
Operating revenues for this fund were $4,073,909, an increase
of 5.2% over 1996. Operating income for the period was $710,282.
Internal Service Funds. Larimer County's internal service
funds include four operating departments and five selfinsurance
funds. The Print Shop provides supplies and central printing
services to County departments, Telecommunications provides for
operation and maintenance of the phone system, Estes Park Common
Costs allocates the costs of office space for various branch offices
located in Estes Park, and Fleet Services provides vehicle and
equipment maintenance and fuel to County departments, as well
as maintenance of Public Works facilities. These four operating
internal service departments generated a combined net income of
$49,937.
The Dental, Unemployment, Workers' Compensation and Property and
Casualty self-insurance funds had a combined net loss of $5,584.
This is consistent with the County's policy of not building up
surpluses in these funds. The Self-Insured Reserve Fund, which
accounts for the accumulation of any surpluses generated and finances
any deficits incurred in the self-insurance programs, closed out
1997 with $4,460,279 in fund equity. This represents a $251,509
increase (6%) over the previous year. The adequacy of worker's
compensation and property and casualty reserves are actuarially
determined.
Debt Administration
Larimer County has no general obligation bonded debt. Colorado
Revised Statutes provide for a general obligation debt limit of
1.5% of assessed valuation. The County therefore had a debt capacity
of over $26 million in 1997.
At December 31, 1997, Larimer County had the following outstanding long-term debt:
| Year of | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Paying Fund | Type of Debt | Maturity | |
| Building Inspection | Capital lease | 1998 | $ 4,772 |
| Capital Outlay | Capital lease | 1998 | 299,234 |
| Print Shop | Capital lease | 2001 | 42,671 |
| Open Lands | Note payable | 2000 | 775,000 |
| Solid Waste | Capital lease | 2004 | 2,019,917 |
| Debt Service | Special assessment | varies | 1,792,926 |
| $ 4,934,520 |
Of the $4.9 million in long-term debt outstanding, only the first
three items, totaling $346,677 are funded from general revenues.
The Open Lands note is payable from a .25% sales tax which is
dedicated to the purchase and maintenance of open space. The
Solid Waste (an enterprise fund) capital lease will fund the cost
of the capital lease agreement to construct the Recycling Center
through the sale of recyclables and dumping fees at the landfill.
Special assessment bonds and notes will be funded by payments
from property owners benefiting from the capital improvements
constructed with debt proceeds.
Cash Management
The County Treasurer, by State Statute, is responsible for the
collection, distribution and investment of monies for most County
funds. Available monies are pooled and invested in a wide variety
of secure, legally authorized investments. Interest earned on
investments reverts to the General Fund or to other funds for
specific purposes when approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
Interest earnings for all County funds amounted to $2,970,350
in 1997. Interest earned on Treasurer's investments was $2.87
million dollars, a 10% increase over 1996. The average yield
on investments was 5.64%. Earnings on Treasurer's investments
were allocated as follows:
| General Fund | $ 2,045,672 | $ 1,981,819 | 3.22% |
| Special Revenue funds | 229,373 | 99,072 | 131.52% |
| Debt Service Fund | 37,311 | 45,104 | (17.28%) |
| Capital Projects funds | 179,347 | 196,996 | (8.96%) |
| Solid Waste Fund | 155,358 | 115,541 | 34.46% |
| Internal Service funds | 226,189 | 181,370 | 24.71% |
| $ 2,873,250 | $ 2,619,902 | 9.67% |
Other interest earned includes $91,709 paid on special assessments
receivable and $5,391 earned by the Sheriff Special Services expendable
trust fund.
Colorado Revised Statutes require that an annual audit be made
of the financial affairs and transactions of all funds and activities
for all local governments whose revenues or expenditures annually
exceed $50,000. The audit is to be performed by an independent
certified public accountant or firm of certified public accountants
licensed to practice in the State of Colorado. In compliance
with this statute, the County engaged the firm of Anderson and
Whitney, Certified Public Accountants, to conduct the audit for
the year ended December 31, 1997. The auditors' opinion is included
in the Financial Section of this report.
The County has adopted the "Single Audit concept" provided
for in the Single Audit Act of 1984 and the Office of Management
and Budget Circular A133 for the audit of federally assisted
programs. Results of the Single Audit are included in the Single
Audit Schedules Section of this report.
Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States
and Canada (GFOA) awards Certificates of Achievement for Excellence
in Financial Reporting to governmental units who publish an easily
readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial
report, the contents of which must conform to strict program standards.
Such reports must satisfy both generally accepted accounting
principles and applicable legal requirements. Larimer County
has received fourteen consecutive Certificates for its Comprehensive
Annual Financial Reports for fiscal years 1982 through 1996.
Each Certificate is valid for a period of one year only. We believe
our current report continues to conform to Certificate Program
requirements, and we are submitting it to GFOA to determine its
eligibility for another certificate.
Preparation of this Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was
made possible by the dedicated and conscientious efforts of the
entire staff of the Department of Accounting and Reporting. The
Accounting Operations Section of the department ensures that transactions
are processed and reported in an accurate and timely manner; the
Financial Reporting Section has the direct responsibility for
preparation of the CAFR in accordance with relevant guidelines
and standards; and the Administrative Support Section turns scratches
and scribbles into a professional and award-winning document.
By working together as an interrelated, highly effective team,
these individuals promote the excellence we strive for.
Appreciation is also expressed to the Board of County Commissioners
who establish the policies which provide for sound financial management,
and to all the other elected officials, division directors, department
heads and County employees for their cooperation and assistance
in matters pertaining to the financial affairs of the County and
the preparation of this report.
Respectfully submitted,
Carol L. Block
Financial Services Director