STATE OF MISSISSIPPI STEVEN A. PATTERSON State Auditor WILLIAM S. JONES, CPA Director, Department of Audit ED P. YARBOROUGH, CPA Director, Division of County Audits_part3 docx

As Lessee: The following is an analysis of property leased under capital leases by major classes as of September 30, 1995: General Fixed Assets The following is a schedule by years of fu

At year end, the carrying amount of the county's investments was $3,013,797 The county's investments at year end consisted entirely of U S Treasury Bills The investments are registered and are held by the county's agent in the county's name

(6) Deferred Compensation Plan

The county offers its employees a deferred compensation plan created in accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 457 The plan, available to all employees of the county, permits participants to defer a portion of their salary until future years, thereby deferring taxation on the portion deferred The deferred compensation is not available to employees until they are separated from service or face an unforeseeable financial emergency All amounts of compensation deferred under the plan, all property rights purchased with those amounts and all income attributable to those amounts, property or rights are (until paid or made available to the employee or his beneficiary) solely the property of the employer (without being restricted to the provisions of benefits under the plan), subject only to the claims of the employer's general creditors Participants' rights under the plan are equal to those of the employer's general creditors in an amount equal to the fair market value of the deferred account for each participant

At June 30, 1995, assets held for participants employed by the county and reported in an Agency Fund totaled

$469,520 The county believes that it is unlikely that it will use the assets to satisfy the claims of general creditors in the future The county has no liability for losses under the plan, but the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System, as plan administrator, does have the duty of due care that would be required of an ordinary prudent investor

(7) Interfund Receivables and Payables

Individual fund interfund receivables and payables consisted of the following at September 30, 1995:

Interfund Interfund Receivables Payables Due from/to Other Funds

Special Revenue Funds:

Interfund Interfund Receivables Payables Debt Service Fund:

Capital Projects Fund:

Agency Funds:

(8) Loans Receivable

Loans receivable in the Special Revenue Fund Type on the combined balance sheet at September 30, 1995,

consists of the following:

block grant loan

(9) Fixed Assets

Changes in General Fixed Assets:

Oct 1, 1994 Additions Deletions Sept 30, 1995 Governmental Funds:

(10) Claims and Judgments.

Risk Financing

The county is exposed to risk of loss related to workers' compensation for injuries to its employees On

January 1, 1990, the county decided to stop carrying workers' compensation insurance because of its prohibitive cost and joined the Mississippi Public Entity Workers' Compensation Trust, a public entity risk pool, to cover its exposure to risk of loss The pool was formed on January 1, 1990, by the Mississippi Association of

Supervisors, Inc., pursuant to Section 71-3-75, Miss Code Ann (1972), to provide workers' compensation insurance for the benefit of participating counties and various other political subdivisions in the State of

Mississippi The county pays premiums to the pool for its workers' compensation insurance coverage and the participation agreement provides that the pool will be self-sustaining through member premiums The retention for the pool is $350,000 for each accident and completely covers all statutory limits set by the Workers'

Compensation Commission Risk of loss is remote for claims exceeding the pool's retention liability

However, the pool also has catastrophic reinsurance coverage of $1,000,000 per accident, provided by

Employers Reinsurance Corporation, effective from January 1, 1995 to January 1, 1996 The pool may make

an overall supplemental assessment or declare a refund depending on the loss experience of all the entities it insures

The county is exposed to risk of loss relating to employee health coverage On September 1, 1987, the county joined the Mississippi Association of Supervisors Employee Benefit Trust, a public entity risk pool, to account for and finance its uninsured risk of loss The pool was formed by the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, Inc., pursuant to Section 25-15-101, Miss Code Ann (1972), to provide health insurance for the benefit of participating counties in the State of Mississippi Premium payments to the pool are determined on an actuarial basis The pool services all claims for risk of loss to which the county is exposed The county purchases commercial insurance to cover all claims in excess of premium contributions Claims expenses and liabilities are reported when it is probable that a loss has occurred and the amount of that loss can be reasonably

estimated Liabilities include an amount for claims that have been incurred but not reported At September 30,

1995, the amount of these liabilities was $87,669 Changes in the reported liability since the fiscal year ended September 30, 1994, resulted from the following:

Current Year

Fiscal Year Changes in Claim Fiscal

$ 102,424 $ 593,521 $ 608,276 $ 87,669

(11) Lease Obligations.

Capital

As Lessee:

The following is an analysis of property leased under capital leases by major classes as of September 30, 1995:

General Fixed Assets

The following is a schedule by years of future minimum lease payments payable under capital leases together with the present value of the net minimum lease payables as of September 30, 1995:

General Long-term Debt Group Year Ending September 30:

(12) Long-term Debt.

The following individual liabilities are reported on the combined balance sheet at September 30, 1995:

Final

General Long-term Debt Account Group:

A General Obligation Bonds:

Mississippi Business Investment Act

B Capital Leases:

IBM AS/400 computer & software for state tag

C Other Loans:

Mississippi Economic and Community

Development loan

Citizens National Bank

Mississippi Economic and

Community Development CDBG loan

Annual requirements to amortize outstanding long-term debt reported in the General Long-term Debt Account Group are as follows:

Legal Debt Margin - The amount of general obligation bonded debt that can be incurred by the county is limited

by state statute Total outstanding general obligation bonded debt during a year can be no greater than 15% of assessed value of the taxable property within the county, according to the then last completed assessment for

taxation However, the limitation is increased to 20% whenever a county issues bonds to repair or replace

washed out or collapsed bridges on the public roads of the county As of September 30, 1995, the amount of outstanding general obligation bonded debt was equal to 4.6% of the latest property assessments

The following changes occurred in liabilities reported at year end:

General Long-term Debt Account Group:

(13) Contingencies

Federal Grants - The county has received federal grants for specific purposes that are subject to audit by the

grantor agencies Entitlements to these resources are generally conditional upon compliance with the terms and conditions of grant agreements and applicable federal regulations, including the expenditure of resources for

allowable purposes Any disallowance resulting from a grantor audit may become a liability of the county

General Obligation Debt Contingencies - The county issued general obligation bonds for the purpose of

providing funds for investment in facilities to be lease purchased by outside enterprise The county maintains title to the property until all debt requirements have been satisfied The industry, as lessee, is required to make lease payments to the county in an amount equal to the debt service requirements as they become due Further, because no income or increase in net worth accrues to the county, the capital lease is not recorded Instead, disclosure is made herewith concerning the county's contingent liability for bonds that the industry repays through lease payments to the county The principal amount of such debt outstanding at year end consists of the following:

Balance Styling September 30, 1995

(14) No Commitment Debt (Not Included in Financial Statements)

No commitment debt is repaid only by the entities for whom the debt was issued and includes debt that either bears the county's name or for which a moral responsibility may exist that is not an enforceable promise to pay

No commitment debt explicitly states the absence of obligation by the county other than possibly an agreement

to assist creditors in exercising their rights in the event of default Because a default may adversely affect the county's own ability to borrow, the principal amount of such debt outstanding at year end is disclosed as follows:

Balance Styling September 30, 1995

Industrial revenue bonds and notes $ 80,815,183

(15) Joint Ventures

The county participates in the following joint ventures:

Jones County is a participant with the Cities of Laurel, Ellisville and Sandersville in a joint venture,

authorized by Section 39-3-9, Miss Code Ann (1972), to operate the Laurel-Jones County Library

The joint venture was created to provide free public library service to all the people of Jones County

and is governed by a four member board, one each appointed by the four member governments By

contractual agreement, the county's appropriation to the joint venture amounted to $156,200

Complete financial statements for the Laurel-Jones County Library can be obtained from Laurel-Jones

County Library,

530 Commerce Street, Laurel, MS 39440

Jones County is a participant with Forrest County, City of Hattiesburg and City of Laurel in a joint venture, authorized by Section 61-3-5, Miss Code Ann (1972), to operate Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional Airport

Authority The joint venture was created to operate a regional airport and is governed by a five member board, one each appointed by the four member governments and one by the Governor of the State of Mississippi By contractual agreement, the county's appropriation from the General Fund to the joint venture amounted to

$129,000 Complete financial statements for the Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional Airport Authority can be obtained from Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional Airport Authority, 1002 Terminal, Moselle, MS 39459

Jones County is a participant with Cities of Laurel, Ellisville, Soso and Sandersville in a joint venture,

authorized by Section 19-9-11, Miss Code Ann (1972), to operate the Jones County Economic Development Authority The joint venture was created to foster, encourage and facilitate economic development in the county and is governed by a board of trustees composed by 22 members appointed as follows: Jones County Board of Supervisors, six; City of Laurel, three; City of Ellisville, three; City of Sandersville, one; advisory group, nine By contractual agreement, the county's appropriation from the General Fund to the joint venture amounted to $138,400 Complete financial statements for the Jones County Economic Development Authority can be obtained from the Jones County Economic Development Authority, P.O Box 527, Laurel, MS 39441-0527

(16) Jointly Governed Organizations

The county participates in the following jointly governed organizations:

Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District operates in a district composed of the Counties of Jones, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Wayne, Marion, Lamar, Forrest, Perry, Greene, Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison and Jackson The Jones County Board of Supervisors appoints one of the 27 members of the district board of directors The county appropriated approximately $64,500 for support of the District in fiscal year 1995

Pine Belt Mental Health Care Resources operates in a district composed of the Counties of Jones, Forrest, Lamar, Perry, Wayne, Greene, Covington, Jefferson Davis and Marion The Jones County Board of

Supervisors appoints one of the nine members of the organization's board of commissioners The county appropriated approximately $125,000 for support of the organization in fiscal year 1995

Jones County Junior College operates in a district composed of the Counties of Jones, Clark, Covington, Greene, Jasper, Perry, Smith and Wayne The Jones County Board of Supervisors appoints two of the 20 members of the college board of trustees The county appropriated approximately $1,267,500 for maintenance and support of the college in fiscal year 1995

Pearl River Valley Opportunity, Inc operates in a district composed of the Counties of Jones, Covington, Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River and Perry The Jones County Board of Supervisors appoints one of the 24 board members The county appropriated approximately $5,960 for support of the organization in fiscal year 1994

Mississippi Regional Housing Authority IV operates in a district composed of the Counties of Jones, Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River, Stone, George, Greene, Perry, Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Covington and Wayne The Jones County Board of Supervisors appoints one of the 15 board members The county did not provide any financial support to the organization in fiscal year 1995

PERS issues a publicly available financial report that includes financial statements and required supplementary information That information may be obtained by writing to Public Employees’ Retirement System, PERS Building, 429 Mississippi Street, Jackson, MS 39201-1005 or by calling 1-800-444-PERS

Funding Policy PERS members are required to contribute 7.25% of their annual covered salary and the county

is required to contribute at an actuarially determined rate The current rate is 9.75% of annual covered payroll The contribution requirements of PERS members are established and may be amended only by the State of Mississippi Legislature The county's total contributions (both employer and employee shares) to PERS for the years ending September 30, 1995, 1994 and 1993 were $676,882, $602,392 and $601,653, respectively, equal

to the required contributions for each year

(18) Subsequent Events

Subsequent to September 30, 1995, Jones County issued the following debt obligations:

(This page left blank intentionally)

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION