Overview
White County, in the foothills of the Georgia mountains about seventy-five miles northeast of Atlanta, is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners (a chairman elected at large and four district commissioners). Its FY2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, prepared by the Finance Department and audited by Rushton, LLC, carries an unmodified opinion: the statements are fairly presented in conformity with GAAP for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
In FY2023 the County as a whole grew its net position by $5,213,571 — governmental activities by $5,186,536 and business-type activities by $27,035. The General Fund, the County's chief operating fund, ended the year with a $16,774,614 fund balance, of which $13,614,319 was unassigned — about 58% of General Fund expenditures, the audit's own liquidity measure. Total governmental funds ended at $26,074,631.
Source: White County FY2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Letter of Transmittal and Management's Discussion and Analysis — FY2023 ACFR (White County site).
At a glance — FY2023 audited
Source: FY2023 ACFR, Management's Discussion and Analysis and Statement of Net Position — FY2023 ACFR (White County site).
Net position — June 30, 2023
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 | County total |
|---|---|
| Net investment in capital assets | $47,658,838 |
| Restricted | $7,093,875 |
| Unrestricted | $19,516,428 |
| Total net position | $74,269,141 |
| Net position by activity | Governmental | Business-type | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net investment in capital assets | $47,186,125 | $472,713 | $47,658,838 |
| Restricted | $7,093,875 | $0 | $7,093,875 |
| Unrestricted | $19,191,377 | $325,051 | $19,516,428 |
| Total | $73,471,377 | $797,764 | $74,269,141 |
Restricted detail (sums to the $7,093,875 above): capital outlay $4,258,966, public safety $1,381,873, housing and development $1,035,301, judicial $374,502, education $43,233.
Change in net position — FY2023
| Item | County total |
|---|---|
| Total revenues | $38,281,675 |
| Total expenses | $33,068,104 |
| Increase in net position | $5,213,571 |
| Net position, July 1, 2022 | $69,055,570 |
| Net position, June 30, 2023 | $74,269,141 |
Governmental-activity revenues of $38,030,801 were led by property tax ($13,343,854) and sales tax ($12,304,207); governmental expenses of $32,829,265 were led by public safety ($14,572,747) and public works ($5,926,080). The audit notes governmental revenues fell by more than $3,390,000 from FY2022, mostly because prior-year American Rescue Plan operating grants did not repeat.
Source: Statement of Net Position (Exhibit A-1) and Statement of Activities (Exhibit A-2) — FY2023 ACFR (White County site).
General Fund — FY2023 actuals vs. final budget
The General Fund is the County's chief operating fund. It took in $24,685,055 against a final budget of $22,421,985 ($2,263,070 over), and spent $23,352,528 against a final budget of $23,445,573 ($93,045 under). Revenues exceeded expenditures by $1,332,527; after net other-financing uses of $922,603, the fund balance rose $409,924.
Revenues — $24,685,055
| Source | Actual |
|---|---|
| Taxes | $20,562,649 |
| Charges for services | $1,647,092 |
| Intergovernmental | $658,213 |
| Interest | $607,364 |
| Fines, fees and forfeitures | $567,311 |
| Licenses and permits | $422,262 |
| Other | $193,147 |
| Contributions | $27,017 |
| Total revenues | $24,685,055 |
Expenditures — $23,352,528
| Function | Actual |
|---|---|
| Public safety | $11,843,965 |
| General government | $4,664,795 |
| Culture and recreation | $1,950,612 |
| Public works | $1,849,293 |
| Judicial | $1,630,661 |
| Housing and development | $803,095 |
| Health and welfare | $610,107 |
| Total expenditures | $23,352,528 |
Fund balance walk
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beginning balance, July 1, 2022 | $16,364,690 |
| Revenues over expenditures | $1,332,527 |
| Other financing sources (uses), net | −$922,603 |
| Ending balance, June 30, 2023 | $16,774,614 |
That ending balance includes unassigned fund balance of $13,614,319 (about 58% of General Fund expenditures); the remainder is nonspendable, restricted, committed, or assigned for projects or for the FY2024 budget. The audit attributes the year's expenditure growth mainly to public safety salaries, wages, and health insurance, and culture and recreation salaries, capital outlay, and insurance.
Source: Governmental Funds Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances (Exhibit A-5) and General Fund Budget and Actual statement (Exhibit A-7) — FY2023 ACFR (White County site).
All governmental funds — FY2023
Beyond the General Fund, the County reports the Drug Task Force, Hotel/Motel Tax, and Opioid Settlement special revenue funds, the 2020 SPLOST Capital Projects Fund, and other (nonmajor) governmental funds. Every row below sums across to its total.
| Fund | Revenues | Expenditures | Ending balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | $24,685,055 | $23,352,528 | $16,774,614 |
| Drug Task Force | $774,339 | $665,939 | $945,470 |
| Hotel/Motel Tax | $2,047,615 | $1,258,227 | $3,603,026 |
| Opioid Settlement | $119,082 | $2,375 | $116,707 |
| 2020 SPLOST Capital Projects | $8,172,017 | $8,592,209 | $3,415,996 |
| Other governmental funds | $1,758,016 | $2,471,879 | $1,218,818 |
| Total governmental funds | $37,556,124 | $36,343,157 | $26,074,631 |
Combined, the governmental funds took in $1,212,967 more than they spent (revenues $37,556,124 minus expenditures $36,343,157); with $10,555 of net other financing sources, fund balances rose $1,223,522 — from $24,851,109 to $26,074,631. The 2020 SPLOST fund spent $420,192 more than it took in; the Hotel/Motel Tax fund grew $789,388, and the Opioid Settlement fund — new in FY2023 — took in $119,082 and spent $2,375 on opioid remediation.
Source: Governmental Funds Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances (Exhibit A-5) — FY2023 ACFR (White County site).
Enterprise funds — FY2023
White County's business-type activities are small: the Solid Waste fund and the Development Authority fund. Together they added $27,035 to net position, ending at $797,764.
| Fund | Operating revenues | Operating expenses | Change | Ending net position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Waste | $179,361 | $180,624 | −$777 | $702,077 |
| Development Authority | $0 | $58,215 | $27,812 | $95,687 |
| Total | $179,361 | $238,839 | $27,035 | $797,764 |
Solid Waste essentially broke even on operations (a $1,263 operating loss, partly offset by $486 of interest revenue). The Development Authority lost $58,215 on operations but received $69,090 of intergovernmental revenue and a $15,000 transfer in, for a $27,812 gain. Solid Waste carries $417,718 of post-closure care liabilities ($17,005 current + $400,713 noncurrent) for the closed landfill.
Source: Proprietary Funds Statements (Exhibits A-11 and A-12) — FY2023 ACFR (White County site).
Debt & capital assets
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Notes payable | $302,565 |
| Bonds payable | $2,780,000 |
| Total long-term debt | $3,082,565 |
| Capital assets, net — governmental | $50,663,943 |
| Capital assets, net — business-type | $472,713 |
| Capital assets, net — total | $51,136,656 |
Total long-term debt fell $824,114 during FY2023 on regularly scheduled principal payments; no new debt was issued. Capital assets gross $122,300,300 less accumulated depreciation $71,163,644 equals the $51,136,656 net figure above. Major FY2023 capital spending included land purchased for future government buildings, the Yonah Preserve multi-court gymnasium project, continued construction of the new Tax Commissioner building, and paving and resurfacing of roads, bridges, and culverts.
Questions about the report itself may be addressed to the White County Board of Commissioners, Attn: Finance Department, 1235 Helen Hwy., Cleveland, GA 30528, 706-865-2235, per the audit's "Contacting the County's Financial Services Department" notice.
Source: Management's Discussion and Analysis (capital assets and debt) and Statement of Net Position — FY2023 ACFR (White County site).
Sources & notes
- Dated basis (repeated): figures from the FY2023 audit — the most recent verified audit available; newer figures were not verifiable. No FY2024 or FY2025 county ACFR or adopted budget was found, so this page is stale-only and must not be read as current-year data.
- Only source used: White County, Georgia, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 (audited; Rushton, LLC). Read the ACFR (White County site).
- Not used: any school-district document. A school-district FY2025 audit exists but is a different government; no school-district figure appears on this page. The White County Health Department component unit ($96,280 net position) is likewise excluded from the primary-government figures above.
- 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 ($47,658,838 + $7,093,875 + $19,516,428 = $74,269,141), General Fund revenues and expenditures, all governmental funds, enterprise funds, debt ($302,565 + $2,780,000 = $3,082,565), and capital assets ($122,300,300 − $71,163,644 = $51,136,656).
- What is missing: this page has no current-year budget, no FY2024 or FY2025 actuals, and no population, staffing, or service-level figures — the FY2023 ACFR does not supply them in a form used here, and none were invented. A newer verified document would be needed to update this dashboard.
- County palette: no high- or medium-confidence White County palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Peach State Pulse dark-glass theme rather than a county color.