Audit report 'is the best you can get'

This chart shows where Johnston County Government spends your tax dollars. The percentages are for the fiscal year ending last June 30.

 

Johnston County Government has earned top marks for its bookkeeping during the 2024-25 fiscal year.

“You hire us as an independent firm to issue an opinion on the financial statements of the County,” Allen Thompson of Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co. told County Commissioners on Feb. 16. “We issued an ‘unmodified’ report, which is the best report you can get.”

Government bookkeeping carries inherent risks, Thompson said. One is that managers will override accounting controls; the other is that government won’t properly account for revenue when it comes in. 

His firm looks for evidence of such rule-bending when it audits a government’s books, Thompson said. In Johnston’s case, “we did do the testing, and we are very comfortable with that,” he said.

Thompson applauded Johnston’s finance office. “There were no uncorrected misstatements, no disagreements with management,” he said. “There were a couple of technical errors in the Medicaid program but no questioned costs, so we’re good there.”

Thompson’s advice to any local government?

“I always say this because I just personally hate them, but I know they have great use — P cards,” he said, referring to purchasing cards, or credit cards issued to employees. “Always be careful with them.”

Thompson then touched on some key numbers from the audit. In short, they showed that government spending is growing but so is saving for a rainy day.

The County’s cash reserves, or fund balance, stood at $271 million as of June 30, 2025. “If you were to go back to 2021, you can see that same number is $171 million,” he noted. 

Total general fund spending was $369 million in fiscal 2024-25. “You go back to ’21, you see where that’s $245 million,” Thompson said.

Cash reserves as a percentage of spending climbed to 63.47%. “It’s a big number,” Thompson said. “Still strong, very strong actually.”

Finally, Thompson touted Johnston’s ability to collect taxes owed. “I’m always amazed that a county this size has such a great collection rate at 99.9%,” he said.

 Business-type debt includes borrowing for water and sewer projects.

In Johnston, 52.6% of County revenue comes from the property tax. Statewide, the percentage is 61.

Page last updated on:  March 13, 2026