Good news was received during the regular meeting of the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court as they heard a report on their annual audit May 25.

John Manning of the Waco audit firm of Patillo, Brown, and Hill L.L.P. presented the audit report for the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2021.

“The financials and the disclosures are the responsibility of VZC,” pointed out Manning to the commissioners’ court. “Our responsibility is to express an opinion on those financials and disclosures, and to make sure that they are appropriate before rendering an opinion.

“We have offered an ‘unmodified’ opinion meaning that we did not have to modify this opinion for serious internal control problems or omissions on things that should be on the financials,” continued Manning. “Of the four types of opinions that we can give, the ‘unmodified’ opinion is the highest level of assurance that we can give. This is like receiving an A-plus on a report card.

“Although we do rely on VZC Auditor Sandy Hill a lot, this report is an entity-wide effort, not just the commissioners’ court, not just the auditor’s office,” said Manning. “It is everyone working together to follow the controls that VZC has put in place to make sure that everything works like it should. We applaud VZC for receiving that ‘unmodified’ opinion.”

The current VZC fund balance is $9 million, according to Manning. “Fund balance is a cash flow mechanism,” emphasized Manning. “When you don’t have revenue coming in, there are excess reserves to keep paying bills that are constant throughout the year. That $9 million mark is huge. There are things that happen all the time that are unexpected like pandemics and natural disasters. When you have reserves like this, it gives you a cushion to be able to accommodate those changes without necessarily having to go out and get long-term debt. I know that there were a lot of tough decisions that have been made here to get that fund balance up, but we like to see it where it is, and I know it took a lot of hard work to get those numbers where they are now.”

Manning summarized, “Overall, this is a very good report. A lot of controls are present. I would like to express my appreciation to Sandy Hill and VZC Judge Don Kirkpatrick. They are always available when we need them. We are here in May because of their efforts. We also reached out to several VZC employees, and we appreciate their efforts as well.”

Kirkpatrick responded, “We have a great team here in VZC. I told John the other day how easy he is to work with. Working with John and Sandy during our ZOOM meetings has worked out very well. The process overall was flawless.”

The motion to approve the audit was made by VZC Pct. 4 Commissioner Tim West and seconded by VZC Pct. 2 Commissioner Virgil Melton Jr. as VZC Pct. 1 Commissioner Chad LaPrade and VZC Pct. 3 Commissioner Keith Pearson joined in to make it a unanimous vote.

In other business during the May 25 commissioners’ court meeting, VZC Judge Don Kirkpatrick recognized a special guest in the audience, Wood County Judge-Elect Kevin White, who has been observing a number of commissioners’ court meetings throughout East Texas in preparation for the beginning of his term on January 1, 2023.

A report on road mileage for each commissioner’s precinct in VZC was approved by the commissioners’ court following a presentation by Hill.

Bonds totaling $5,000 each were approved by the commissioners’ court for the following VZC employees:

VZC Interim Sheriff Joe Carter, Hill, Irma Hayes of the VZC Treasurer’s office, and April Tawater of the VZC Treasurer’s office.

A plat for Gamble Cabins, located on VZCR 2101 in VZC Pct. 2, was approved by the commissioners’ court following a recommendation by Melton.

A plat for Lindsay Equestrian Acres in Fruitvale in VZC Pct. 1 was approved by the commissioners’ court following a recommendation by LaPrade.

In a separate recommendation by LaPrade, a plat for Rancho Poquito, located between Van and Grand Saline in VZC Pct. 1, was approved by the commissioners’ court.

A plat for Hidden Acres, located in the Colfax community in VZC Pct. 1, was approved by the commissioners’ court following a recommendation by LaPrade.

Following a recommendation by Kirkpatrick, the renewing of the Thomson Reuter/West Law contract regarding the VZC Law Library was approved by the commissioners’ court.

No action was taken by the commissioners’ court regarding a proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Canton and VZC involving the Sarah Norman/ VZC Library.

After a presentation by Melonie Williams of the VZC Sheriff’s Department, the commissioners’ court approved the purchase of a 2021 Ford Edge from Brinson Ford in Athens and a 2022 Ford Edge from Freedom Ford in Greenville, both for the sheriff’s department, at a total cost of $76,167.67.

A check totaling $900.00 to be received from the City of Van regarding roadwork on East Ohio Street and VZCR 1412 was approved by the commissioners’ court following a recommendation by LaPrade.

The results of the May 7 Constitutional Amendment Election were officially canvassed by the commissioners’ court following a recommendation by VZC Clerk Susan Strickland.

A series of fiscal year 2022 budget amendments, presented by Hill, were approved by the commissioners’ court.

The April 2022 Financial & Investment Report of the VZC Treasurer’s office was approved and entered into the minutes of the commissioners’ court.

Monthly reports submitted by various offices and departments of VZC government were approved and entered into the minutes of the commissioners’ court as a matter of record.

At the beginning of the May 25 regular meeting, a moment of silence was observed in memory of those who lost their lives in the May 24 school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, prior to the invocation given by Pearson.

The minutes of the May 9 and May 11 meetings along with the VZC bills for payment, as submitted, were approved by the commissioners’ court.

The next regular meeting of the VZC Commissioners Court is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 8, in the VZC Courthouse.