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Northlake audit finds clean opinion for 2024; town balance and reserves rise
Summary
Auditors gave the Town of Northlake an unmodified (clean) opinion on its 2024 financial statements and reported a rise in net position and strong unrestricted fund balances, the council heard at its May 22 meeting.
Auditors told the NorthlakeTown Council on May 22 that the town’s 2024 financial statements received an unmodified — or “clean” — opinion and that the town’s net position increased for the year. The presentation was given by Austin Henderson of audit firm Brooks & Watson.
The clean opinion means the auditor did not identify material misstatements in the town’s financial statements. “Unmodified is the highest level of assurance that we can give,” Austin Henderson said during the presentation. The town’s ending net position for 2024 was reported at about $128 million, with unrestricted net position of roughly $22 million and a total net-position increase of about $32 million over the prior year.
Why it matters: a clean audit and healthy fund balances affect the town’s credit standing, its ability to sell bonds for capital projects and residents’ confidence in fiscal stewardship. The audit also documented that the town’s general fund unassigned balance remained well above the town’s policy threshold: staff reported unassigned balance equal to 51% of annual expenditures versus the policy target of 33%.
Supporting details: auditors described their risk-based approach to testing and noted that budgetary results for 2024 showed revenues exceeding budget by about $1.6 million and expenditures over budget by roughly $966,000; the net budget result was about $663,000 positive. The auditors also highlighted operating income in the town’s water and sewer enterprise funds at nearly $4 million — a figure auditors said is important to confirm the utility is self-sustaining.
The presentation also summarized required communications to the council: a small number of audit adjustments (standard journal entries to present full-year accruals), and a much smaller set of internal-control items than in prior years. “Controls are getting better,” Henderson said, noting that p-card issues cited in earlier audits have been addressed.
Council and staff context: town staff and the audit firm said the full audit report is posted online. Councilors thanked staff for cooperating with the audit process and for improvements to internal controls that reduced prior-year findings.
What’s next: the audit is a public document available on the town website. Councilors and staff said they will use the audit information as part of budget and capital planning for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
