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City auditor issues unmodified opinion on St. Pete Beach 2024 financial statements; three control comments noted
Summary
James Moore & Co. issued an unmodified opinion on the City of St. Pete Beach's financial statements for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024, and reported three internal-control or documentation comments tied largely to recent staff transitions.
James Moore & Company presented the annual audit results for the City of St. Pete Beach’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, reporting an unmodified opinion on the city’s financial statements and noting three comments related to reconciliation, payroll documentation and access-rights procedures.
Zach Shallowfore, partner with James Moore & Company, told the commission the auditors issued the best-level opinion — an unmodified opinion — meaning the financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects. He noted the audit timing had slipped from the city’s usual schedule but that the firm and city staff are planning to return to a normal timetable next year.
The auditors identified three report comments they described as largely the result of recent transitions: 1) year-end reconciliations that required audit adjustments to arrive at the final financial-statement figures; 2) payroll documentation items related to approvals and supporting records; and 3) timely removal of system access when employees separate from the city. Shallowfore said management included a written response in the report describing corrective steps.
On financial-condition flags, the audit report noted no new items but repeated a previously reported matter concerning the building department fund balance. Shallowfore said state statute limits the amount that may be carried over in that fund relative to the size of the department budget, and the building department’s fund balance exceeded that statutory cap at year-end.
Shallowfore highlighted the city’s general fund balance (assets minus liabilities) of just under $20 million, noting assigned and unassigned reserves together put the city’s unrestricted reserves at a level equivalent to roughly eight months of general fund spending. He characterized that as a healthy reserve level for a city of St. Pete Beach’s size, while reminding the commission of factors that might argue for higher reserves (hurricane exposure, smaller government size).
On enterprise and pension funds, Shallowfore said the reclaimed-water fund was slightly negative while wastewater and stormwater positions improved. He also pointed to improved funded ratios for the city’s pension plans from 2023 to 2024, attributing the improvement to favorable market performance in fiscal year 2024, and cautioned commissioners to consider long-term implications of pension decisions.
Commissioners had no further questions during the presentation. The commission received the annual comprehensive financial report as presented. Shallowfore thanked staff for their cooperation during a year of transition and said the firm will work with staff to accelerate next year’s reporting timeline to return to a normal April presentation cadence.
Reporting note: the city submits its annual comprehensive financial report to the Government Finance Officers Association for consideration of the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting; the city received that certificate for 2023 and the auditor expects the 2024 submission to be competitive.
