Cherokee County’s chief financial officer gave a generally upbeat report on county finances at Tuesday’s county commission meeting — coupled with a warning.

Pre-audit results for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 show the county’s revenue was $7 million above budget for the year, at $152.7 million, while expenses amounted to $160.4 million, $14.1million less than forecasted, said Janelle Funk. The general fund was up $2.1 million over projections, driven in part by bigger than expected TAVT/motor vehicle and mortgage-related tax collections.

Not-so-bright spots included health care claims per employee per month, which ran nearly 10 percent over budget, with more enrollees and higher costs. The county will probably use almost all the unreserved balance in the insurance and benefits fund in 2015, helping create a gap that’ll need to be addressed for the following year.

Workers compensation claims were also higher than expected, due primarily to new claims, Funk said.

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Waymo autonomous vehicles operate across 65 square miles inside I-285 and have been involved in six incidents with Atlanta Public School buses since May. Waymo issued a recall because of their cars briefly stopping or slowing down before continuing forward while a bus was stopped and flashing its lights. (Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools)

Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools