Purvis Gray and Company issued unmodified opinions on the city and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) financial statements for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024, and the joint City Council/CRA board unanimously accepted the audited reports and approved the CRA’s draft budget presentation during a special joint meeting.

The unmodified opinions—which auditors described as "the highest level of attestation"—cover both the city and the CRA. Megan Camp, audit director for Purvis Gray’s Tallahassee office, told the council the audits contained no material weaknesses and only one carryover finding in the CRA report that the city has corrected for the current year.

The finding concerned the CRA’s distribution of tax increment financing (TIF) proceeds: the CRA had remitted 100% of certain distributions rather than the 95% required under Florida law. Camp said the practice was identified from the prior year, had been corrected for the current year, and management’s response is in the CRA report.

Camp summarized the audit scope and highlights for the joint body. "We did issue unmodified opinions on both the city and the CRA," Camp said. She noted the audit included a federal single-audit of major federal programs and two major state projects; auditors tested the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds at the federal level and the statewide water quality restoration and local transportation projects at the state level.

The audit also reviewed compliance items required by the Florida Auditor General, the Local Government Cybersecurity Act (initial compliance assessed as of Jan. 1, 2024), and recent and upcoming GASB changes. Camp said the auditors performed a penetration test with an outside vendor and found "no reportable issues" in the IT review.

City finance highlights presented by the auditors included: a roughly $1.5 million (about 10%) increase in tax-based revenues driven by property-value growth; a $1 million downtown streetscapes grant and roughly $300,000 in Vineyard Village grant expenditures; a 62% rise in miscellaneous revenues (largely investment earnings and storm reimbursements); and a general fund unassigned fund balance of $10.5 million at year-end, down about $5.1 million from the prior year but equal to about 27% of budgeted FY25 general fund expenditures.

On enterprise funds, auditors reported the sanitation fund’s revenues increased by roughly two-thirds, tied largely to a new sanitation contract whose base cost rose by nearly 60%. Total net position across enterprise funds increased by about $4.4 million; of that, about $2.7 million was unrestricted and roughly $1.7 million represented increased investment in capital assets.

Pension plans were also noted as healthy: the general employees plan was about 89.73% funded and the police and fire plan about 89.78% funded as of the measurement date the auditors reported.

Following the audit presentation, the CRA director delivered the CRA budget presentation and a status update on downtown projects the CRA plans to prioritize. The director said the draft CRA budget is "substantially similar to last year" and that downtown improvement grants, awning grants and funding to carry forward a sidewalk staining project are priorities. The CRA director said some remaining CRA funds will be used for improvements to the building the agency calls the "learning center." The director noted a discrepancy in addresses referenced in the meeting records—both 189 Main Street and 114 Main Street were mentioned in connection with the learning-center improvements; the CRA director said additional work was discovered that may delay an optimistic October opening and that a contractor update will determine the firm schedule.

The CRA director also reported that permanent speakers installed along Main Street have been upgraded and are expected to be functional for upcoming fall events such as Food Truck Friday and the fall festival. The CRA director said staff are coordinating with the Main Street leadership on fall and winter event plans and on potential year-round decorative lighting and banner expansion into adjacent CRA streets.

Council members and CRA board members thanked the finance team and auditors. Councilman Hayes called the audit "outstanding," and another council member praised the finance staff for placing the city in a strong fiscal position.

Formal votes recorded during the meeting included unanimous approval of the meeting agenda and the consent agenda, unanimous approval of the motion to accept the CRA budget presentation, and unanimous acceptance of the audited financial reports for both the city and the CRA. (Vote tallies were recorded in the meeting as unanimous verbal "ayes;" no roll-call tallies with counts were given on the record.)

The joint body discussed the statutory requirement that CRA fund balances be appropriated to specific CRA projects at fiscal-year end or potentially returned to taxing authorities, and the CRA director said staff will obligate funds to projects such as the sidewalk staining, learning-center improvements, awning-improvement grants and other downtown beautification items moving into the new fiscal year.

The meeting adjourned after no members of the public requested to speak during the public-comment check.

Ending: The auditors’ unmodified opinions and the council’s acceptance mean both the city and the CRA will carry forward with the presented budget priorities and planned downtown projects; CRA staff will return with contractor timelines and next steps on the learning-center work and other downtown capital items.