City auditor reports $3.6 million net increase for Groves in FY2024; recommends payroll time entry automation

City Auditor Walker presented the City of Grovesf27 fiscal year 2024 financial audit during the April 14 council meeting, saying the audit carried a clean opinion and showed a $3.6 million increase in the cityf27 net position.

Walker said the auditorf27s independent report found the accompanying financial statements "present fairly the financial position of the city and the respective changes in financial position and cash flows for the year that ended," a statement Walker described as a clean opinion.

The audit showed net position of about $12.3 million for governmental activities and about $25.8 million for business-type activities (water, sewer and solid waste), producing a combined total net position of roughly $38.0 million at Sept. 30, 2024, up from $34.4 million the prior year. Walker said governmental activities added about $2.1 million and business-type activities added about $1.4 million during the year.

Walker walked the council through fund-accounting figures used for short-term operations, reporting a general fund unassigned fund balance of approximately $3.44 million, roughly a little over three months of operating expenditures. On the fund accounting (modified accrual) basis, total general fund revenue was about $10.6 million and expenditures (including capital outlays) were approximately $11.1 million, producing an operating deficit of about $552,000 that was offset by $1.6 million in transfers from enterprise funds.

On the full-accrual side, Walker noted capital contributions from developers of about $1.4 million, which increase net position but are noncash and do not provide immediate cash for operations. He also noted depreciation, principal debt payments, and pension liability adjustments that account for the difference between fund-basis and government-wide results.

Walker recommended the city consider automating employee time entry to reduce manual payroll calculations and speed payroll processing. "We're recommending possibly looking at automating your time entry system for the employees," Walker said, noting manual calculations currently slow payroll processing.

Mayor and council members asked for the full audit package; Walker said staff could email the detailed report and could return for follow-up questions. No formal vote was required for the auditorf27s presentation.

The audit presentation provided context for upcoming budget discussions and capital planning, highlighting stronger-than-expected revenue performance on property taxes, sales taxes and permits during the audited year.