WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
St. Joseph County ended 2020 with a surplus featuring a combined fund-balance increase of more than $2.2 million compared to 2019.
The good news was delivered during Tuesday’s commission meeting, when Joe Verlin of the Grand Rapids-based firm Gabridge & Co., provided a detailed analysis of the annual audit.
Afterward, however, finance director Angie Steinman cautioned that the surplus was an anomaly due to a variety of one-time circumstances. The first of the three she referenced was a loan to the Commission on Aging for a little over $400,000 that was paid back.
Next, COVID grants came into play with the surplus, though she did not indicate exactly how much that meant financially.
Then, she referenced Community Stabilization Dollars, which could amount to $800,000, with a chance the county may receive as much as twice that amount.
Without the combination of those three sources, the county would not have had a surplus in 2020, Steinman said, adding it would likely have broken even otherwise.
