The city's independent auditors told the Taneytown City Council on Oct. 8 that the draft fiscal 2025 financial statements received an unmodified opinion and required no audit adjustments.

Auditors Michelle Mills, audit principal at Veil Leon & Stang, and Addie Blickenstaff, audit manager with DNS, told the council the statements were "fairly stated" and that their work found no material weaknesses in internal controls. "The draft has been prepared with an unmodified opinion on the financial statements," Mills said.

The auditors summarized several figures: government-wide assets of about $52.2 million, liabilities near $12.3 million and a net position of about $40.3 million; capital assets comprised about 73% of total assets; and the general fund showed revenues of about $6.7 million and expenses of about $7.1 million for a deficit of roughly $405,000. They said the utility fund reported net position of about $26.3 million and that nonoperating revenues included roughly $1.8 million of ARPA funds and a PFAS settlement of about $101,000.

Mills and Blickenstaff said the city adopted GASB 101 in fiscal 2025, which required recognizing liabilities for sick leave and comp time prospectively; the auditors recorded a cumulative adjustment of $72,000 to reflect previously unrecorded liabilities. "The cumulative effect of this was a $72,000 adjustment, to record those previously unrecorded liabilities for sick leave and comp time," Blickenstaff said.

The auditors also reported that their ARPA-focused alternative compliance examination found no instances of noncompliance in their work but that issuance of the formal examination report is delayed because the federal 2025 compliance supplement remained in draft form. "We will issue and we have not issued, and that is because the 2025 compliance supplement is currently in draft form," they said. The audit team said the city complied "in all material respects" with the ARPA requirements covered by their examination.

Council members asked about liquidity and comparative cash-on-hand; the auditors noted liquidity disclosures are not a required note for local governments and suggested the council could analyze cash relative to liabilities as an internal measure. The auditors praised city staff who supported the engagement, and the council thanked the audit team.

The auditors recommended no material control changes and reported no disagreements with management. The council received the presentation; no formal vote on the audit opinion was recorded at the meeting.

Ending: The council will receive the final audit and the ARPA examination report once the federal compliance supplement is finalized. The audit presentation and underlying figures will inform the city's budget discussions and financial planning going into 2026.