Alamance County Audit Shows $4.3M Drop in Usable Financial Reserves

Alamance County's annual audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 showed a significant erosion of the county's deepest financial reserves, even as general fund revenues appear to have covered expenditures for the year, according to an advance summary of the delayed audit report.

The sharpest decline came in unassigned savings, the portion of reserves left after funds earmarked for specific uses are set aside. That figure fell to less than $35.7 million from $40.0 million the prior year, a drop of roughly $4.3 million. The broader picture was only marginally better: total general fund savings slipped from $96.9 million to $96.4 million, while the usable portion of those reserves declined from $80.8 million to $78.1 million.

Alamance County has traditionally directed surplus revenues into its general fund reserves, making the simultaneous rise in revenues and fall in reserves a notable departure from recent practice.

The findings come from a presentation prepared by Martin Starnes & Associates, the Hickory-based firm that has conducted the county's audits for well over a decade. Commissioners were scheduled to receive the firm's report on a Monday earlier this month but postponed the presentation to March 16 without offering a public explanation at the time.

Finance director Susan Evans subsequently told The Alamance News the reason for the two-week delay: "This two-week delay is the result of an ongoing review by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which is obligated to sign off on certain parts of the audit."

The full, final audit has not yet been publicly released. Commissioners are expected to receive the complete report from Martin Starnes & Associates at the March 16 meeting, at which point the county's financial picture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 will be laid out in full before the board.