Decatur County commissioners received a good report concerning the audit of the county’s financial activity during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Certified public accountant Ben Lee of St. Simons Island, Ga., formerly of Bainbridge, said he had noticed significant improvement in several aspects since he last performed an audit for the county government about five years ago. Lee said areas of improvement included the county’s financial policies and procedures, its use of better accounting software and the quality of its financial reporting.

He also lauded the work of the Board of county’s Finance Committee and all seven commissioners for their cooperation in the audit process.

The county had more than $43 million in net assets as of June 30, 2010. That represents a net decrease of about $1 million in total assets, however, that was largely due to normal depreciation, Lee said.

The county’s actual revenue exceeded budget estimates by $271,000; actual expenses were $1.2 million less than budgeted.

Board, personnel appointments

Commissioners unanimously agreed to send three names to the Hospital Authority for its consideration as replacement for the seat vacated by Mary Breedlove’s resignation last year. The three names submitted are George Washington, Marvin Thomas and Alesia Brinson.

Commissioner Earl Perry directed the county clerk to include each applicants’ resume be sent along with the list so the Hospital Authority can be better informed if and when making a selection from the three.

Commissioners approved the re-appointment of Brad Bellville to the Keep Decatur County Beautiful board and approved new appointees Newton Cloud to succeed Tim Smith and Frank Loeffler to succeed Butch Mosely on the KAB board.

At the county’s Jan. 11 meeting, commissioners appointed Katie Marzolf, a human resources professional, to the Southwest Georgia Workforce Investment Board.

Also on Jan. 11, commissioners approved the re-appointment of Beverly King as county clerk. County Attorney Brown Moseley was re-appointed to a six-month contract, with re-evaluation to be done at that time.

Four new Sheriff’s patrol cars purchased

Commissioners approved the purchase of two Ford Crown Victorias with Police Interceptor packages, to be used by the Sheriff’s Office, for $21,500 from Brannen Motor Company of Unadilla, Ga. Brannen was the only vendor that had two available for immediate delivery, Undersheriff Wendell Cofer explained.

Commissioners also approved a request from Sheriff Wiley Griffin for purchase of two additional Crown Victorias for $21,150.77 from low-bidder Riverbend Ford of Bainbridge. The vehicles’ purchase will be funded by a federal grant for $190,000, which the Sheriff’s Office has again received. Two more will be purchased when the grant money comes in, Cofer said.

Other business

• Approved a mutual firefighting aid agreement between Decatur County and the City of Chatthoochee, Fla. Decatur County Fire and Rescue Chief Charlie McCann said the agreement could help improve response times to fires in the Booster Club community, located in the southwestern corner of the county.

• Approved the purchase of a super knocker water tanker truck to be used by the Black Jack Volunteer Fire Department. The county will pay the Georgia Forestry Commission’s Decatur County unit $36,486.54 for installation of a 1,650-gallon water tank and associated parts and equipment on top of a truck chassis the forestry office is donating to the county.

• Approved the purchase of an E-350 15-passenger van and a Ford F-150 crewcab pickup, both to be replace old vehicles currently in use by the Decatur County Prison. The county will buy the E-350 van from low-bidder Allan Vigil Ford of Morrow, Ga., for $22,561. The F-150 pickup will be purchased from low-bidder Riverbend Ford of Bainbridge for $21,217.