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Council accepts City of Greenfield 2024 audited financial statements; auditors report clean opinion
Summary
Auditor from Baker Tilly told the council the city received an unmodified (clean) opinion on its 2024 financial statements. The council approved and accepted the audit and independent auditor's report at the June 17 meeting.
Wendy, an auditor with Baker Tilly U.S. LLP, told the Greenfield Common Council on Tuesday that the firm issued a clean, unmodified opinion on the City of Greenfield's 2024 financial statements and that the city’s internal controls appear strong.
Wendy said a new Governmental Accounting Standards Board requirement, GASB 101, affected accounting for compensated absences in 2024 and was disclosed in the opinion. She also summarized key financial results: a government-wide decrease in net position of about $6.5 million, driven largely by payoff of TID-related obligations and an adjustment related to prior debt premium treatment. The general fund, she said, performed well and added about $400,000 to fund balance against a budgeted use of roughly $600,000.
Council action: Alderperson Acres moved to approve and accept the financial statements and independent auditor’s report as presented; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously in a roll-call vote.
Why it matters: acceptance of audited financial statements completes the year's formal financial review and informs the council and public about fund balances, cash positions and debt. Auditor Wendy highlighted that the general fund ended the year with about $1.7 million in unassigned fund balance and that the city remains above its policy target of holding 20% of the next year's budget in reserve.
Selected details Wendy reported: the city’s general obligation debt ended the year at roughly $87.9 million, of which about $47.8 million is TIF-related and the city’s net direct portion is about $40 million; sanitary sewer cash balance was about $11 million; refuse and recycling cash was about $2.33 million. She said the general fund's unassigned balance represented roughly 25% of the subsequent year's budget, above the city's policy target of about $8 million (20% of the subsequent year budget).
No material internal-control weaknesses: Wendy said the audit found no material journal entries or material weaknesses in internal control and included routine “reporting and insights” that list upcoming GASB standards for 2025–26.
The council voted to accept the audit report; no additional council direction, ordinance changes or budget actions were recorded at the meeting.
