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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Board and District officials properly managed fund balance and reserves.

Key Findings

• The Board overestimated appropriations by a total of $2.7 million from 2016-17 through 2018-19 and annually appropriated $225,000 of fund balance that was not used to finance operations.
• As of June 30, 2019, surplus fund balance totaled over $1 million and was 6 percent of 2019-20 appropriations, exceeding the statutory limit by approximately $354,000 or 2 percentage points.
• The District’s written reserve fund policy was not comprehensive and three reserves with balances totaling $1.3 million were generally not being used.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt budgets that include reasonable estimates for appropriations and the amount of fund balance that will be used to fund operations.
• Reduce surplus fund balance to comply with the statutory limit and use the excess funds in a manner more beneficial to taxpayers.
• Adopt a comprehensive written reserve fund policy, including plans for the use of reserves in accordance with applicable statutes.

District officials generally agreed with our findings and recommendations and indicated that they plan to take corrective action.