Maverick County Commissioners Court to tackle 2012 County Audit with $2.3 Million Deficit at March 24th Special Meeting

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

Maverick County Commissioners Court has scheduled a special meeting on Monday, March 24, 2014, at 5 P.M. at the Commissioners Courtroom at the Maverick County Courthouse, located at 500 Quarry Street, in Eagle Pass, Texas, to hold a “workshop to discuss matters related to the draft reports for the financial audit including the single audit supplement, management letter, and the governance letter for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012, from Martinez, Rosario & Company, L.L.P.,” which shows Maverick County with a $2.3 Million budget deficit for 2012 according to the draft audit presented last week on Monday, March 17th, by Certified Public Accountant Milo Martinez of Martinez, Rosario & Company of San Antonio, Texas.

The long overdue Maverick County audit for 2012 has become a major stumbling block for Maverick County from receiving funding from some state and federal agencies for certain County programs according to earlier statements made by County Judge David R. Saucedo and Commissioners at previous meetings. The 2012 Maverick County audit should have been filed by March 1, 2013, but due to extremely poor and inadequate accounting records maintained by Maverick County has caused the delay in completing the audit and subsequent approval by Commissioners Court as well as the threatened loss of some state and federal agencies’ funding of certain County programs.

According to Milo Martinez, CPA, the draft of the County 2012 Financial Statements and Audit presented to Commissioners Court last week does not include his firm’s independent auditor’s opinion that the numbers presented are true and correct due to inadequate accounting and record-keeping maintained by Maverick County during 2011-2012. Furthermore, Martinez advised Commissioners Court last week that the draft of the County’s 2012 audit does not include the financial statements of the important Maverick County Solid Waste Authority, a quasi-governmental entity of the County and operator of the Maverick County Landfill, because its financial records requested had not been provided to his firm on a timely basis and those that were provided were incomplete and inadequate.

According to Martinez, the only County entity with a clean 2012 financial statements and audit was the Maverick County Public Facility Corporation, which operates the Maverick County Detention Center.

Martinez advised Commissioners Court that the 2012 audit draft reflects a $2.3 Million budget deficit similar to the previous 2011 audit which sustained another $2.3 Million deficit.

Also on the agenda is an Executive Session item of “consultation with attorney regarding the contract modification of Martinez, Rosario & Company, L.L.P. for fiscal year extended September 30, 2012 financial and single audit” and subsequent Open Session item on having to pay the auditors extra financial compensation. These and many other 2012 audit draft issues will be discussed by Commissioners Court at its Monday, March 24th, workshop and special meeting. After the workshop, Commissioners Court are expected to approve the County’s 2012 audit at a future meeting.

Maverick County is also late filing its 2013 financial statements and audit which were due on March 1, 2014.

Other agenda items to be discussed at the March 24th special meeting include discussion and possible action to replace three members on the Maverick County Airport Board, the acceptance of nominations from Commissioners Court to reorganize the Maverick County International Airport Advisory Committee, the acceptance of a proposed salary adjustment to be presented by Road and Bridge Superintendent Ernesto Guevara, the approval of a Budget Transfer from an unnamed County department to cover for engineering services, registered voters that live on Fresno Street and Fresno Loop, the lowering of pay wage from $13.46 to $10.20 for Full-Time Correctional Officer Daisy Trevino at Maverick County Detention Center effective March 18th, allowing Nutritionist Health Coach Maricruz Sifuentes Martinez to host a “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right” Fair on Saturday, March 29th at the Maverick County Lake from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M., and other matters.

The Maverick County Commissioners Court meetings are open to the public.