Overview
Monroe County was established by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on May 15, 1821, and operates under a County Commissioner form of government: five commissioners elected by district, with the Chairman elected at large. The County provides public safety (police and fire), highways and streets, sanitation, health and social services, culture and recreation, public improvements, planning and zoning, and general administrative services.
The auditor, Mauldin & Jenkins (Macon, Georgia), issued an unmodified opinion dated October 30, 2025: the FY2024 financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the County's financial position as of December 31, 2024. The County reports two kinds of primary-government activity: governmental activities (general government, public safety, public works and the like) and business-type activities (the Water, Landfill, and Conference Center enterprise funds).
In FY2024 the County as a whole added $4,208,925 to its net position: governmental activities gained $4,520,089 while business-type activities lost $311,164. The General Fund itself grew slightly — up $127,807 — because $9,892,135 of revenues over expenditures was nearly offset by $9,764,328 of net transfers out and other financing uses.
Source: Monroe County, Georgia, Financial Report for the year ended December 31, 2024 — Independent Auditor's Report (addressed to the Board of Commissioners, Monroe County, Georgia, Forsyth, Georgia) and Notes, Note 1 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
At a glance — FY2024 audited
Source: FY2024 audit, Statement of Net Position, Governmental Funds statements, and Proprietary Funds statements — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Net position — December 31, 2024
Net position is what remains after liabilities and deferred inflows are subtracted from assets and deferred outflows. Each column below sums exactly to its total.
| Component | Governmental | Business-type | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net investment in capital assets | $49,814,853 | $59,324,594 | $109,139,447 |
| Restricted — judicial | $50,560 | $0 | $50,560 |
| Restricted — public safety | $4,295,787 | $0 | $4,295,787 |
| Restricted — capital projects | $30,637,012 | $0 | $30,637,012 |
| Unrestricted | $12,922,881 | −$2,035,602 | $10,887,279 |
| Total net position | $97,721,093 | $57,288,992 | $155,010,085 |
Restricted detail sums to $34,983,359 ($50,560 + $4,295,787 + $30,637,012). The business-type unrestricted deficit is driven by the Landfill fund (see Enterprise funds). Net position walk: beginning total $150,801,160 (governmental $93,201,004 + business-type $57,600,156) plus the FY2024 change of $4,208,925 equals the $155,010,085 ending total.
Discretely presented component units are not in the totals above: Development Authority $6,487,501, Industrial Development Authority $1,796,999, and Board of Health −$275,411 at December 31, 2024.
Source: Statement of Net Position, p. 5 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
General Fund — FY2024 actuals vs. final budget
The General Fund is the County's chief operating fund. It took in $43,233,665 against a final budget of $40,272,720 ($2,960,945 over, driven by property taxes $3,372,945 over budget), and spent $33,341,530 against a final budget of $34,019,401 ($677,871 under).
Revenues — $43,233,665
| Source | Actual |
|---|---|
| Property taxes | $23,597,295 |
| Sales taxes | $5,880,913 |
| Other taxes | $2,706,058 |
| Licenses and permits | $692,335 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,074,832 |
| Charges for services | $3,158,777 |
| Fines and forfeitures | $3,401,599 |
| Investment income | $684,730 |
| Miscellaneous | $1,037,126 |
| Total revenues | $43,233,665 |
Expenditures — $33,341,530
| Function | Actual |
|---|---|
| General government | $11,014,374 |
| Judicial | $1,918,272 |
| Public safety | $13,788,559 |
| Public works | $3,084,105 |
| Health and welfare | $167,273 |
| Culture and recreation | $1,034,892 |
| Housing and development | $825,316 |
| Debt service — principal | $1,400,577 |
| Debt service — interest and fiscal charges | $108,162 |
| Total expenditures | $33,341,530 |
Fund balance walk
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beginning balance, Jan 1, 2024 | $35,445,491 |
| Revenues over expenditures | $9,892,135 |
| Other financing sources (uses), net (sale of assets $240,422 + transfers in $1,020,642 − transfers out $11,025,392) | −$9,764,328 |
| Ending balance, Dec 31, 2024 | $35,573,298 |
Ending-balance composition (sums to $35,573,298): nonspendable inventories $224,955; restricted for capital projects $14,268,826; assigned for general government $232,460; unassigned $20,847,057.
Source: General Fund Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances — Budget (GAAP Basis) and Actual, pp. 10–11, and Governmental Funds Balance Sheet, p. 7 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
All governmental funds — FY2024
Beyond the General Fund, the County reports the Public Facilities Authority, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fund, a Capital Projects fund, the 2020 SPLOST and 2022 TSPLOST funds, and nonmajor governmental funds. Every row below sums across to its total.
| Fund | Revenues | Expenditures | Ending balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | $43,233,665 | $33,341,530 | $35,573,298 |
| Public Facilities Authority | $207,045 | $5,415,498 | $4,446,484 |
| ARPA Fund | $806,252 | $611,704 | $1,572,162 |
| Capital Projects | $0 | $3,292,832 | −$184,413 |
| 2020 SPLOST | $7,672,546 | $1,282,409 | $11,607,656 |
| 2022 TSPLOST | $6,604,341 | $9,516,367 | $4,308,415 |
| Nonmajor governmental funds | $1,854,739 | $2,979,017 | $3,052,124 |
| Total governmental funds | $60,378,588 | $56,439,357 | $60,375,726 |
Combined, the governmental funds took in $3,939,231 more than they spent ($60,378,588 − $56,439,357), then recorded net other financing uses of $2,939,381, for a net fund-balance increase of $999,850 — from $59,375,876 to $60,375,726. By function, the largest expenditure was public safety ($17,354,191), followed by capital outlay ($11,490,061) and general government ($11,014,374); debt-service principal was $5,765,577 and interest and fiscal charges $1,158,660.
Note the Capital Projects fund's deficit balance of $184,413: it spent $3,292,832 on capital outlay with no revenues of its own in FY2024, partly covered by $2,258,326 of net other financing sources.
Source: Governmental Funds Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances, p. 8 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Enterprise funds — FY2024
The County's business-type activities are three enterprise funds: Water, Landfill, and the Conference Center (nonmajor). All three lost money on operations in FY2024; transfers in from other funds covered most of the shortfall.
| Enterprise fund | Operating revenues | Operating expenses | Operating loss | Ending net position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | $3,414,990 | $4,221,739 | −$806,749 | $53,773,897 |
| Landfill | $440,400 | $3,100,600 | −$2,660,200 | $2,617,288 |
| Conference Center | $121,425 | $305,875 | −$184,450 | $897,807 |
| Total | $3,976,815 | $7,628,214 | −$3,651,399 | $57,288,992 |
Operating revenues detail (sums to $3,976,815): water charges $3,334,954, collection and disposal fees $440,375, rent $115,710, service charges $73,265, miscellaneous $12,511. Operating expenses detail (sums to $7,628,214): personnel services $1,594,370, purchased/contracted services $1,509,109, supplies and materials $495,341, utilities and purchased water $1,993,460, depreciation $2,035,934.
Net position walk — business-type activities
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Operating loss | −$3,651,399 |
| Nonoperating revenues (expenses), net (investment income $9,175 − interest expense $16,734 − loss on sale of capital assets $20,872) | −$28,431 |
| Transfers in | $3,179,803 |
| Capital contributions (tap fees $188,323 + capital assets $540) | $188,863 |
| Change in net position | −$311,164 |
| Beginning net position, Jan 1, 2024 | $57,600,156 |
| Ending net position, Dec 31, 2024 | $57,288,992 |
By fund, the change was Water −$433,063, Landfill +$106,147, Conference Center +$15,752. The Landfill's unrestricted net position is −$3,038,387, reflecting its $2,436,159 landfill closure and postclosure care liability.
Source: Proprietary Funds Statements of Net Position and of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Fund Net Position, pp. 13–14 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Debt & capital assets
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bonds payable — due within one year | $4,540,000 |
| Bonds payable — due in more than one year | $20,347,456 |
| Financed purchases — due within one year | $738,638 |
| Financed purchases — due in more than one year | $3,089,314 |
| Notes payable (Water fund) — current + long-term | $793,192 |
| Total bonds, financed purchases & notes | $29,508,600 |
| Net pension liability (governmental + business-type) | $9,753,093 |
| Total OPEB liability (governmental) | $2,678,346 |
| Landfill closure & postclosure care liability | $2,436,159 |
| Capital assets, net | Governmental | Business-type | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nondepreciable | $4,162,158 | $451,543 | $4,613,701 |
| Depreciable, net of accumulated depreciation | $71,009,183 | $59,666,243 | $130,675,426 |
| Total capital assets, net | $75,171,341 | $60,117,786 | $135,289,127 |
Compensated absences total $2,579,718 ($445,636 current + $2,134,082 long-term across both activity types). The bonds and financed purchases above are governmental-activity obligations; the notes payable belong to the Water enterprise fund.
Source: Statement of Net Position, p. 5, and Proprietary Funds Statement of Net Position, p. 13 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Sources & notes
- Only source used: Monroe County, Georgia, Financial Report for the year ended December 31, 2024 (audited; Mauldin & Jenkins, Macon, Georgia; auditor's report dated October 30, 2025, addressed to the Board of Commissioners, Monroe County, Georgia, Forsyth, Georgia). Read the audit (PDF, UGA TED portal).
- Fetch method: the document was retrieved by text fetch on the first attempt from the verbatim TED URL above; no second attempt was needed.
- Sum checks: every breakdown table on this page was added up before publishing; each shown total equals the sum of its shown parts, including net position by component and by activity, General Fund revenues and expenditures, all governmental funds by fund and by category, enterprise operating results, and capital assets. No figure that failed a sum check is used.
- What is missing: this page has no current-year budget, no FY2025 or FY2026 actuals, no Management's Discussion and Analysis (the auditor notes it was not presented), and no population, staffing, or service-level figures — the FY2024 audit does not supply them in a form used here, and none were invented. A newer verified document would be needed to update this dashboard.
- Identity: this is Monroe County, Georgia (seat Forsyth), established 1821 — not the City of Monroe (Walton County), not the City of Forsyth, and not Monroe, North Carolina.
- County palette: no high- or medium-confidence Monroe County palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Peach State Pulse dark-glass theme rather than a county color.