Ask for the complete Seven Rivers cost-and-benefit account

Choose the questions that matter to you. You do not need to read every supporting record to ask for a clear explanation. The detailed prompts below identify what could supply one.

What does Appling provide, and what gets repaid?

1. What agreement authorizes the County's payroll role, and precisely which costs must Seven Rivers reimburse? Source 1, 6
2. For the most recent completed County fiscal year, what were wages, payroll taxes, benefits, insurance, retirement and administrative costs? Show them beside invoices, receipts and outstanding balances.
3. Are any costs or obligations left with Appling taxpayers? If so, how much, why, and who approved them? The $95,000 expense proposal alone does not establish such a burden. Source 1
4. How is the $100,000 reimbursement projection calculated, and what happens if receipts fall short or exceed costs? Source 1

Why use the County's payroll system?

5. What practical benefit does the arrangement provide to Appling residents, and what benefit does it provide to Seven Rivers?
6. Could Seven Rivers run its own payroll or buy payroll services? Has that option been compared with the full cost and obligations of using the County?
7. What responsibilities would remain if the agreement ended, and what notice or transition provisions apply?
8. What do other participating counties contribute, what services do they receive, and how is the regional allocation determined? Dues and reimbursed payroll are different forms of support. Source 5

What do the financial records explain?

9. Which ledger entries represent payments to Appling, and how do they map to the salary and nonemployee management-fee categories in the IRS returns? Source 2–4
10. What government grants, fees, dues and legally available reserves support operations? Which restrictions limit their use, and what need for County assistance remains? A restricted loan fund cannot simply be assumed available for payroll. Source 2, 6
11. Can Seven Rivers provide its audited statements and explain the asset-disposal entry and the Form 990 review and conflict-policy answers? These are questions for the organization and its accountant; no misconduct finding is established. Source 2, 3, 6
12. How many Appling households, farms or projects benefited during the latest completed year, what services did they receive, and how does the organization document those results?
13. What financial and service reports does the County receive before renewing this arrangement, and what would trigger a change?

The essential hearing question is the complete cost-and-benefit account. We cannot confirm a net taxpayer burden or net financial benefit from the available worksheets and returns.