BENTON COUNTY TABLE OF CONTENTS FINANCIAL _part3 doc

BENTON COUNTY
Notes to Financial Statements
For the Year Ended September 30, 1995
19
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:
1996 $ 104,136
1997 69,670
1998 63,774
1999 21,248
2000 35,000
Total Minimum Lease Payments 293,828
Less: Amount representing interest 29,107
Present Value of Net Minimum Lease Payments $ 264,721
(11) Long-term Debt.
The following individual liabilities are reported on the combined balance sheet at September 30, 1995:
Final
Amount Interest Maturity
Description and Purpose Outstanding Rates Date
General Long-term Debt Account Group:
A. General Obligation Bonds:
Jail renovation $ 20,000 5.2 /5.3 10-1-96
B. Capital Leases:
IBM computer and software $ 11,095 6.97/7.68 11-1-96
District 3 wheel loader 2,888 7.25 1-1-96
District 1 motor grader 3,153 6.50 1-1-96
District 1 wheel loader 15,869 6.50 10-1-96

District 2 motor grader 11,514 6.50 1-1-97
District 2 motor grader 71,068 5.75 10-1-99
District 4 (2) motor graders 68,651 5.50 9-1-98
District 5 loader 44,022 6.50 2-1-99
District 3 motor grader 36,461 5.75 1-1-99
Total $ 264,721
C. Other Loans:
Disaster loan - 1979 $ 17,002 3.0 / 6.0 9-30-99
Disaster loan - 1981 26,812 6.0 / 9.0 9-30-99
County building 10,000 6.0 4-1-96
Total $ 53,814
BENTON COUNTY
Notes to Financial Statements
For the Year Ended September 30, 1995
20
Annual requirements to amortize outstanding long-term debt reported in the General Long-term Debt Account
Group are as follows:
Year Ending September 30 Bonds Leases Loans Total
1996 $ 11,060 104,136 24,600 139,796
1997 10,530 69,670 14,000 94,200
1998 63,774 14,000 77,774
1999 21,248 14,000 35,248
2000 35,000 7,624 42,624
Total 21,590 293,828 74,224 389,642
Less: Amounts representing interest 1,590 29,107 20,410 51,107
Total at Present Value $ 20,000 264,721 53,814 338,535
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 .32% of the latest property assessments.
The following changes occurred in liabilities reported at year end:
Balance Balance
Styling Oct. 1, 1994 Additions Reductions Sept. 30, 1995
General Long-term Debt Account Group:
General obligation bonds $ 30,000 10,000 20,000
Capital leases 270,659 139,561 145,499 264,721
Other loans 74,535 20,721 53,814
Total $ 375,194 139,561 176,220 338,535
(12) 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.
Litigation - The county is party to legal proceedings, many of which occur in the normal course of governmental
operations. It is not possible at the present time to estimate ultimate outcome or liability, if any, of the county with
respect to the various proceedings. However, the county's legal counsel believes that ultimate liability resulting
from these lawsuits will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the county.
BENTON COUNTY
Notes to Financial Statements
For the Year Ended September 30, 1995
21
(13) 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 at

Styling September 30, 1995
Industrial revenue notes $ 104,386
(14) Jointly Governed Organizations.
The county participates in the following jointly governed organizations:
Northwest Mississippi Community College operates in a district composed of the Counties of Benton, Calhoun,
DeSoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica and Yalobusha. The Benton County
Board of Supervisors appoints two of the 23 members of the college board of trustees. The county appropriated
approximately $99,202 for maintenance and support of the college in fiscal year 1995.
The Northeast Mississippi Planning and Development District is a service district composed of Alcorn, Benton,
Marshall, Prentiss, Tippah and Tishomingo Counties. The Planning and Development District provides services to
the member counties in planning, financial records and computer services. The Benton County Board of
Supervisors appoints four members of the 24 member board of directors. The district receives less than $100,000
in financial support from the member counties.
The Northeast Mental Health/Mental Retardation Commission is composed of Benton, Chickasaw, Itawamba, Lee,
Monroe, Pontotoc and Union Counties. Each member county appoints one member of the board of commissioners.
In the aggregate, the counties provide approximately 8% of the organization's operating budget.
The Northeast Mississippi Regional Solid Waste Authority provides solid waste services to the following counties:
Alcorn, Benton, Prentiss, Tippah and Tishomingo. The authority also services the Cities of Ashland, Booneville,
Corinth, Iuka and Ripley. Currently, Benton County does not receive any direct services from the authority, but
rather contracts with a private firm for the collection of solid waste. The authority prepared a five year solid waste
plan for the county. Each member of the authority appoints one member of the ten member commission.
United Community Action Commission, Inc., was created as a non-profit organization pursuant to federal
community action legislation in the mid 1960's. The commission is governed by a 21 member board, seven of
whom are appointed by the Benton County Board of Supervisors. Most of the commissions operating revenues
come from federal sources.
BENTON COUNTY
Notes to Financial Statements
For the Year Ended September 30, 1995
22
(15) Defined Benefit Pension Plan.

Plan Description. Benton County, Mississippi, contributes to the Public Employees' Retirement System of
Mississippi (PERS), a cost-sharing, multiple-employer, defined benefit pension plan. PERS provides retirement
and disability benefits, annual cost-of-living adjustments and death benefits to plan members and beneficiaries.
Benefit provisions are established by state law and may be amended only by the State of Mississippi Legislature.
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 contributions to PERS for the years ending September 30, 1995, 1994 and 1993 were
$72,475, $74,859, and $71,713, respectively, equal to the required contributions for each year.
(16) Subsequent Events.
On October 31, 1995, Benton County received a default judgement against ABC Manufacturing in the amount of
$87,434 in damages plus interest at the legal rate, attorney's fees in the sum of $2,500 and all costs of the court.
The case involved a lease from the county for the building the ABC Company was using. The company defaulted
on the debt it owed and the county was forced to assume the payments.
On December 4, 1995, Benton County guaranteed a loan to Northeast Mississippi Solid Waste Management
Authority for the county's pro rata share of the loan principal and interest. The total contingency is as follows:
Issue Interest Issue
Date Rate Amount Type of Financing Source of Financing
12-95 5.5% $ 11,615 Other loan - contingent General Fund
liability
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BENTON COUNTY
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
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BENTON COUNTY
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BENTON COUNTY
Schedule of Federal Financial Assistance
For the Year Ended September 30, 1995
Catalog of
Federal
Federal Grantor/ Domestic Program
Pass-through Grantor/ Assistance Pass-through or Award Federal Federal
Program Title Number Grantor's Number Amount Revenue Expenditures
U. S. Department of
Housing and Urban
Development/Passed-
through the State of
Mississippi Department
of Economic & Community
Development
Community development
block grant 14.219 3-113A-095-ED-IF01 $ 275,000 $ 186,096 186,096
Community development
block grant 14.219 4-095-PF-01 314,000 105,040 105,040
Total U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development 291,136 291,136
U.S. Department of
Transportation - Federal
Highway Administration/
Passed-through the
Mississippi Department of
Transportation
Bridge inspection program 20.205 N/A 2,480 2,480 2,480
Total Federal Financial Assistance $ 293,616 293,616
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BENTON COUNTY
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BENTON COUNTY
SPECIAL REPORTS
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BENTON COUNTY
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OFFICE OF THE STATE AUDITOR
STEVEN A. PATTERSON
AUDITOR
3750 I-55 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39211 (601) 364-2888 FAX (601) 364-2828
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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT ON THE INTERNAL CONTROL STRUCTURE
BASED ON AN AUDIT OF THE
PRIMARY GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
PERFORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS
April 9, 1996
Members of the Board of Supervisors
Benton County, Mississippi
We have audited the primary government financial statements of Benton County, Mississippi, as of and
for the year ended September 30, 1995, and have issued our report dated April 9, 1996. The Independent Auditor's
Report on the primary government financial statements is qualified because the primary government financial
statements do not include the financial data of component units, which should be included in order to conform with
generally accepted accounting principles.
We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and Government
Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that we plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the primary government financial statements
are free of material misstatement.
The management of Benton County, Mississippi, is responsible for establishing and maintaining an

internal control structure. In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to
assess the expected benefits and related costs of internal control structure policies and procedures. The objectives
of an internal control structure are to provide management with reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that assets
are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or disposition and that transactions are executed in accordance
with management's authorization and recorded properly to permit the preparation of primary government financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of inherent limitations in any
internal control structure, errors or irregularities may nevertheless occur and not be detected. Also, projection of
any evaluation of the structure to future periods is subject to the risk that procedures may become inadequate
because of changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of the design and operation of policies and procedures
may deteriorate.
In planning and performing our audit of the primary government financial statements of Benton County,
Mississippi, for the year ended September 30, 1995, we obtained an understanding of the internal control structure.
With respect to the internal control structure, we obtained an understanding of the design of relevant policies and
procedures and whether they have been placed in operation, and we assessed control risk in order to determine our
auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the primary government financial statements and
not to provide an opinion on the internal control structure. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.
We noted certain matters involving the internal control structure and its operation that we consider to be
reportable conditions under standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Reportable conditions involve matters coming to our attention relating to significant deficiencies in the design or
operation of the internal control structure that, in our judgment, could adversely affect the county's ability to
record, process, summarize and report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the primary
government financial statements. The reportable conditions noted during our consideration of the internal control
structure are described in the accompanying "Schedule of Auditor's Findings and Recommendations."