By Taylor Boyd
Patrick County received a clean, unmodified opinion, the best it could have received from an independent auditor, on its 2025 audit report.
Scott Wickham, CPA, CFE, of Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates, told the Patrick County Board of Supervisors at its Jan. 12 meeting that the county and school board implemented the required GASB 101 standard regarding compensated absences.
“The impact of that standard is an increased liability for approved leave, primarily, it’s sick leave. That doesn’t change any of your operations. That’s just a change in the calculations of your approved liability, but not your cash payments,” he said.
While not an unaccounted budget impact, Wickham said it would have a significant impact on the county’s financial statements and liability, “particularly the schools,” which represented an estimated $2.5 million increase “to your liability, about $400,000 increase to the county liability,” he said.
Wickham said the three non-compliance findings from the previous year have since been corrected.
Excluding receivable property taxes, the county has $26,566,061 in current assets.
Wickham said its $9,070,282 in net investment in capital assets includes buildings, vehicles, and infrastructure.
“Restricted items – for you all a large portion of that is the one percent sales tax (but) it can be opioid items, other grant restricted items, and that’s about $3.4 million,” he said.
He said that unrestricted funds of approximately $17 million are available for the county to use.
Over the past five years, Wickham said property taxes have grown about 4.69 percent each year.
“Intergovernmental revenues, which are your state and federal grants, have grown about 4.9 percent per year over five years, and total revenue is just under seven percent per year,” he said.
Wickham said the operating expenses have increased by almost eight percent, just outpacing the incoming revenues.
“Something to watch as you move forward,” he said.
Wickham said the unassisted fund balance is perhaps the best way to measure how healthy the county is. “At the end of 2025, the county had $19.1 million in its unassigned fund balance.” The ending unassigned fund balance as a percentage of operating expenditures was 29 percent, he said.
Wickham said the Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA) recommends a minimum unassisted fund balance of two months, or 16.67 percent, of general operational expenditures.
“So, you are above that. I always want to caution that that is a minimum amount. That’s a national organization, so some localities have an easier tax basis than others to add to, so something like that is something to take into account there,” he said.
Regarding the county’s debt balances, Wickham said its debt per capita of $3,247 is well below the state average of $4,113.
“That state average is the same this year and last year because we don’t actually have 2025’s yet, so I wanted to mention that. That is 2024’s amount, and 2025’s should be available in the next few months. I expect it to increase,” he said.
In other matters, the board:
*Heard from Steve Ferring, who said he recently began going through the county’s finances when getting ready for its fiscal year 2027 budget process.
“I noticed a peculiarity I can’t understand, and that’s the fact that we are still paying a county administrator that is no longer here,” he said. If former county administrator Beth Simms is receiving pay after she left the county in November, Ferring said he and other taxpayers would like to know that.
“If it’s something else, and we can infer that it is, we’d like to know what the hell you cost us. Is there an endpoint or are we going to continue to pay that money out every month,” Ferring asked the board.
Overby replied that public comment is not a question-and-answer session.
“Well, obviously not, but I believe you ran your campaign on transparency – let’s have some. Why don’t you make an announcement at the next meeting and tell us what you’re doing and how much it’s costing us,” Ferring said.
“If there’s anything legally we can release, we will do that,” Overby said.
Ferring said expenses fall under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). “If I have to FOIA it, I will, but I’ve asked you now to make it apparent as to what you’re doing. That’s all. How much is it going to cost us? How long do we have to pay? I pay my taxes, I expect you to use my taxes properly. I expect you to tell me where you’re using my taxes, not just secret them away and make payments,” he said, and added he hopes the board’s budget meetings are open as well “so we as well as you can query the budgets vis-a-vis the taxes that are requested of our people and the money that supports those taxes.”
Following the meeting, Overby said he’s been advised by Patrick County’s attorney, Guynn, Waddell, Carroll & Lockaby, PC, that the board is not to discuss anything concerning the former county administrator because it is a personnel issue.
*Ferring also suggested the board cap the real estate taxes for residents aged 65 and older who have lived in the county for over 20 years.
*Approved lending the brass book of hospital donors to Stuart Community Hospital, with a requirement that if the hospital closes, the book would be returned to the county.
*Heard from Crystal Harris, who discussed the brass book of hospital donors.
*Heard from Galen Gilbert about recent accidents along U.S. 58 in the Patrick Springs area.
*Discussed the 2026 board retreat.
*Heard an update on county parks projects from Luke Williams, director of Parks & Recreation.
*Approved allocating $11,850 from the county’s EMs budget funds to contract for the installation of a generator from the former Station 8 building in the former school board building, which is designated as the county’s Emergency Operation Center.
*Approved Kofile as the vendor for the Circuit Court Preservation Grant 2026.
*Approved the installation of card readers in the Patrick County Administration Building.
*Heard the administrator’s report.
*Heard Emergency Management Director Scottie Cassell’s emergency management services report.
*Heard a facilities update from Transfer Station Manager Scottie Hylton.
*Heard a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) report.
*Heard the supervisors’ reports.
*Approved the Dec. 15 meeting minutes.
*Approved the bills, claims, and appropriations.
employee and encouraged the board to cap the tax rate for
those who meet certain age and other requirements.
