Ocean Shores finance staff told the Finance Committee on July 30 that they will recode cost allocation entries, archive unused ledger accounts including Fund 439, and correct prior transfers so August financials show the revised presentation.

The committee heard that the city will create new cost-allocation codes, undo incorrect transfers booked for 2025 and then start a new coding process intended to align the budget presentation with proper accounting and the city's audited financial reporting. Tara Dunford, the city's certified public accountant, said the work should be completed in August and will not change the city's net budget.

"So our next steps in the process are to create the new codes for cost allocation, undo the prior transfers that have been booked for 2025, and then start the new coding process," Dunford said, adding that the corrections will bring budget reporting in line with how the city already reports for the annual audit. She described the current practice of recording cost allocation as transfers "as not correct accounting" and summarized the proper treatment: reduce costs in the general fund and increase expenses in the funds being charged.

Why it matters: the recoding is intended to make monthly financials clearer for council members, departmental leads and the public while reducing the need for time-consuming manual adjustments during the annual audit. Committee members said they expect to see the corrected presentation reflected in the August financial reports distributed to council and department heads.

Key actions and timing discussed: committee members identified seven action items related to the cleanup. Staff said items 1 through 5 will be completed by internal finance staff (led by Shontay, assistant treasurer, and committee staff) immediately after July financial close, with items 6 and 7 supported by Dunford. The team's stated goal is that the August financial statements will reflect the corrected accounting and archived codes; some archival work may extend into September and an additional action item may complete by year end.

Other technical steps: staff also said they will begin coding municipal vehicle fuel and repair charges directly to departments (for example, department barcode + vehicle suffix) starting immediately so those costs are allocated to operating departments rather than sitting in a centralized general-fund line. The committee discussed archiving zero-balance or historical bar codes rather than deleting them, so historical transactions remain retrievable in an archived back end.

Committee expectations and next steps: finance staff asked that committee members and council immerse themselves in the revised August financials to build confidence in the corrections. The committee and staff emphasized the cleanup is intended to simplify the general ledger and streamline budgeting and annual reporting, not to increase or decrease city revenues or expenditures.

Ending: staff will present the revised August financials to the committee when the recoding work is complete and will identify any remaining items that require formal budget amendments later in the year.