By Mica Banks for THE PAPER
With enough money in its reserves to fund town operations for more than a year if needed and growth of $1.5 million in its governmental fund balance, Valdese had a great financial year in 2025, said Phil Church of Lowdermilk Church & Co.
Following the council’s joyful recognition of the Valdese Tigers Peewee and Valdese Tiger Mighty Might football champions and the cheerleaders for both teams, Church gave a presentation on the town’s annual audit.
The audit just found one issue: The town owns a lot of old equipment and infrastructure that is wearing out and losing value over time.
But this isn’t unusual or specific to Valdese. Many towns are dealing with the same problem because their roads, buildings, pipes, and other public assets are getting older, said Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Town Manager Bo Weichel.
At the end of the 2025 budget year, the town had about $12.1 million set aside across all its government accounts. That total includes money in the main operating fund plus a few special project funds like Old Rock School renovations, Hoyle Creek restoration, and other, smaller funds.
The total is about $1.5 million more than the town had at the end of the previous year.
But not all of that $12 million is money the town can freely use. About $1.36 million of it is locked up, meaning it’s either restricted by law or already set aside for specific purposes.
The unassigned fund balance for the general fund in the 2025 fiscal year was $8,123,452. This is 125.43% of the total general fund expenditures, meaning Valdese has more than a year’s worth of money in its reserves that could cover governmental operations if needed.
Mayor Pro Tem Rexanna Lowman said Valdese’s fund balance is because the town is putting money aside now to pay for future projects.
Church said Valdese’s capital asset ratio, which measures the remaining life of the town’s assets, was about 42%. Anything below 50% is flagged by the Local Government Commission (LGC).
“What it’s basically saying is that your assets are getting older,” Church said. “And they (LGC) want you to think about planning for the future.”
The audit also revealed that the town’s total debt decreased by 1.02%, falling from $8,177,860 in 2024 to $8,094,778 in 2025.
“You did have a good year this year, you really did,” Church said.
Want to see the audit report?
To view the full audit report, visit www.townofvaldese.com and click “Menu.” Find “Government,” and under “Town Council,” click “Meetings & Agendas.” Under “2026 Meeting Schedules & Agendas,” click the link titled “February 2, 2026” or “Feb. 9, 2026.” Both will show the same agenda packet because the Feb. 2 meeting was postponed until Feb. 9. The audit document starts on page 85. Financial highlights are on page 94. Financial statements begin on page 103.