Champaign finance staff and auditors report clean audit for fiscal 2024; city highlights improved net position

Champaign Finance Director Kaye Nees and City Accountant Amanda Corrigan presented the City of Champaign’s comprehensive annual financial report for the year ended 2024, and outside auditors from Lauterbach and Amen issued an unmodified — or "clean" — opinion on the city’s financial statements.

The audit matters because it confirms the city’s financial statements are presented fairly and that auditors were able to rely on the city’s internal control environment — important signals for residents, bondholders and pension stakeholders.

Amanda Corrigan opened the presentation by saying, “I am proud to report that once again we have a clean audit.” She led council through the management’s discussion and analysis and the key financial statements, noting the city reported $634,700,000 in total assets, $194,200,000 in total liabilities and a combined net position of $443,400,000. Corrigan said $360,000,000 of the net position is invested in capital assets and that the city’s net position rose by $42,000,000 in fiscal 2024, driven in part by one‑time grant revenues.

Corrigan described fund results: the general fund balance decreased by $3,100,000 due to a planned drawdown for one‑time initiatives, while governmental fund balances rose overall by $6,900,000 primarily because of increases in the capital improvement fund and other nonmajor funds. She also reported total federal grant expenditures of $10,400,000 for fiscal 2024 and said the single audit of federal awards produced no findings or questioned costs.

Courtney Moore, principal at Lauterbach and Amon, told council the auditors gave an unmodified opinion and that their SAS 114 letter reported no difficulties or disagreements with management. "We did give the city an unmodified opinion. It is also known as a clean opinion," Moore said, and added the auditors found the city’s internal control environment reliable for purposes of their testing.

Council members asked clarifying questions about actuarial bases and pension funding. Council member Shannon asked whether the 91% funding level shown for the police pension was based on city or police actuarial calculations; Corrigan replied it was ‘‘per our actuarial calculations.’’ Corrigan also noted public safety pensions’ funded ratios improved this year to about 91.56% for police and 78.44% for fire, and that those increases reflected additional one‑time contributions by the city.

Council members praised the finance team and the auditors for the work that produced the report; several members thanked staff for contributing to the city’s fiscal strength and the ability to pay down pension liabilities and invest in infrastructure.

The council did not take separate formal action on the audit during the study session; the packet and the auditors' presentation served as the briefing for council and the public.

Ending: The auditors will finalize report files and the city will continue budget‑to‑actual monitoring; staff indicated the single audit and the management letter are part of the record and available in the posted packet.