GRANITE QUARRY — Granite Quarry received a positive report during a presentation of the town’s annual audit at the December board of aldermen meeting.

The audit was conducted by Tony Brewer, a certified public accountant based out of Lexington who specializes in auditing small municipalities. Brewer provided the highlights to the board during his presentation, including that their available fund balance stood at 106 percent of the town’s expenditures. That number means that if the town were to stop receiving any revenues whatsoever, it could still remain functional with last year’s operating expenses for over a year.

This year’s audit provided a new wrinkle for towns, as auditors are now required to report performance indicators to governing boards and alert them that they must pen a letter to the N.C. Local Government Commission if there are any negative indicators. Brewer informed the board that the LGC did not require a response from Granite Quarry because there were no negative performance indicators.

Brewer also provided the town with a few highlights of the statistics included in the audit. Total revenues were up approximately $307,000 from the prior year, mainly due to increases in property tax collection, local option sales tax collection and investment earnings. Expenditures were up approximately $149,000 due to increases in salary and operating expenses for all of the town’s departments. In total, the town’s revenue was approximately $752,000 greater than its expenditures.