Auditor issues clean opinion on Ozark's 2024 financial statements; resident raises missing-pages, transparency concerns

Auditor Marshall Deck told the Ozark Board of Aldermen on Aug. 18 that the city's 2024 financial statements received a clean opinion and that federal grant reporting showed no findings. "Everything was fine," Deck said, adding the report included the additional government-auditing standards paragraphs required when federal grants are involved.

The presentation matters because the audit is the formal, independent review of the city's finances; Deck said the city ended the year with cash positions he described as "excellent." He told aldermen the general fund had roughly $11 million in cash and cash equivalents and that water and sewer funds showed several months of operating cash despite a large capital spending year.

During public comments, resident Buddy Huggins said he had reviewed the city's annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR) and that several pages were missing. "The ACFR for 2023 is missing 8 pages," Huggins said, and he specifically cited the page that shows net position. He asked the city to make the report easier to understand and more readily available to people with learning disabilities.

Finance Director Mary Edna Wilson explained the city had followed the state auditor's procedures when setting the tax levy and confirmed officials submitted federal grant reports to the clearinghouse. The board and staff also told Huggins they would meet with him to review the documents and answer questions.

Deck walked aldermen through the report's major sections: the independent auditor's opinion, required supplemental information such as management's discussion and analysis, and the notes to the financial statements. He highlighted revenue in the governmental funds, the balance-sheet cash snapshot, and the statement of cash flows for proprietary funds. "You always want to see a positive number" in cash from operations, he said, characterizing the water and sewer operating cash as positive despite capital outlays.

Deck also noted a pension schedule included in the report to show pension liabilities and assets and explained how those schedules inform bond-raters and banks. He said the federal assistance schedule in the back documented the grants the city received and that those items were in compliance.

City Administrator Eric Johnson thanked the finance team and said the city will continue work on budget processes and quarterly reporting ahead of the fall budget season.

No formal board action on the audit was recorded at the meeting beyond the presentation and the staff's offer to meet with the resident who reported the missing pages.

Huggins's request underscores a recurring public-access issue: he asked for the ACFR to be both complete and presented in formats accessible to people with learning differences. The finance director and city staff said they will arrange a follow-up meeting to review the report with him.

The audit presentation and follow-up comments close with the city indicating they will check whether backups of the report are complete and will discuss next steps at the upcoming agenda meeting.