The finances of the City of Cedartown, Georgia — county seat of Polk County — drawn entirely from the city's FY2024 audited Annual Financial Report. No adopted budget book was available for this page, so every figure below is audited, not budgeted.
While total net position is a positive $46,064,284, the city's governmental unrestricted net position is a deficit of −$6,627,112. Across both activities, total unrestricted net position is −$374,216.
The deficit is driven by long-term retirement obligations booked against governmental activities: a governmental net pension liability of $6,978,380 and a governmental OPEB liability of $4,750,783. In plain terms, the value locked into capital assets and restricted balances carries the total — the freely available governmental position is negative once pension and retiree-health promises are counted.
Source: City of Cedartown, Georgia Annual Financial Report, For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 — Statement of Net Position (FY2024 audited).
Government-wide net position at December 31, 2024, split between the city's governmental activities (tax-supported services) and business-type activities (the Water & Sewer utility).
| Activity | Net position |
|---|---|
| Governmental activities | $26,871,242 |
| Business-type activities (Water & Sewer) | $19,193,042 |
| Total net position | $46,064,284 |
| Unrestricted — governmental activities Deficit, driven by pension and OPEB liabilities — see disclosure above | −$6,627,112 |
| Unrestricted — total, both activities | −$374,216 |
Source: City of Cedartown, Georgia Annual Financial Report, For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 (Mauldin & Jenkins, auditors).
Fund balances are the near-term, spendable side of the books. The General Fund closed FY2024 at $4,276,458, of which $1,938,721 is unassigned. Total governmental fund balances were $14,506,633.
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total governmental fund balances | $14,506,633 |
| General Fund balance Unassigned portion: $1,938,721 | $4,276,458 |
| Cedartown Development Authority Fund balance A major fund of the City — its balance is part of the governmental funds total above | $6,238,137 |
| Governmental revenues — fund basis Includes $5,234,081 of one-time asset-sale proceeds — see the note below | $19,349,561 |
One-time revenue — do not read $19,349,561 as recurring. The governmental revenue total of $19,349,561 includes $5,234,081 of asset-sale proceeds reported in other financing sources. Of that, $5,214,000 came from a single event: the Cedartown Development Authority Fund's sale of assets. Strip out the one-time sale and the underlying revenue picture is roughly $5.2 million smaller.
Source: City of Cedartown, Georgia Annual Financial Report, For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 — governmental fund statements (FY2024 audited).
Bonded debt of $10,065,000 sits in two places: a development-authority issue reported inside the primary government, and the Water & Sewer system's refunding bonds. A separate low-interest state loan (GEFA) adds $2,458,423.
| Obligation | Outstanding |
|---|---|
| Cedartown Development Authority Revenue Bonds, Series 2023 Governmental activities. Issued by the Development Authority, a blended component unit — reported inside the primary government, as the audit reports it. | $4,500,000 |
| Water & Sewer Revenue Bonds — Series 2013 / 2017 / 2019 refundings Business-type activities. Final maturity 2033. | $5,565,000 |
| Total bonded debt | $10,065,000 |
| GEFA note payable Business-type activities. Georgia Environmental Finance Authority loan at 1.25%, due December 1, 2040. | $2,458,423 |
What is not in these numbers: $5,325,000 of Series 2013 bonds and $5,527,000 of Series 2017 bonds were defeased in the refundings — legally set aside and no longer obligations of the city. They are excluded from the $5,565,000 above and from outstanding debt on this page.
Source: City of Cedartown, Georgia Annual Financial Report, For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 — long-term debt notes (FY2024 audited).
These long-term liabilities are the reason the governmental unrestricted position is a deficit (see the disclosure near the top of this page). The governmental shares are shown alongside the totals.
| Liability | Governmental share | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Net pension liability | $6,978,380 | $8,419,821 |
| Total OPEB liability (retiree health care) | $4,750,783 | $4,929,789 |
Source: City of Cedartown, Georgia Annual Financial Report, For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 — pension and OPEB notes (FY2024 audited).
The audit's reconciliation, printed in full. Governmental fund balances measure near-term resources; net position adds the city's capital assets and subtracts its long-term obligations — which is where the pension and OPEB weight lands. Every line below foots exactly to the reported governmental net position of $26,871,242.
| Reconciliation line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total governmental fund balances | $14,506,633 |
| Capital assets, net of depreciation Added — fund statements expense assets; government-wide statements capitalize them | +$25,996,562 |
| Long-term liabilities Subtracted — obligations not due in the current period | −$5,217,360 |
| Pension & OPEB net deferral effect Subtracted — the net effect of pension/OPEB deferred outflows, inflows, and liabilities | −$9,336,262 |
| Accrued interest adjustment | +$920,838 |
| Other adjustment as reported in the reconciliation | +$831 |
| Governmental activities net position | $26,871,242 |
Source: City of Cedartown, Georgia Annual Financial Report, For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 — reconciliation of the governmental funds balance sheet (FY2024 audited).
Three related organizations are presented separately in the audit as discretely presented component units. Their balances belong to those entities — they are not part of the city's $46,064,284 net position, and the similarly named one below is not the city's Development Authority Fund.
Don't confuse the names. The Cedartown Development Authority Fund (fund balance $6,238,137) is a major fund of the City itself — its figures are inside the city's governmental funds, and it is the fund that sold $5,214,000 of assets in FY2024. The Downtown Development Authority, at $18,469, is a separate component unit and a different entity entirely.
Source: City of Cedartown, Georgia Annual Financial Report, For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 — component unit statements (FY2024 audited).