Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency approves 2024 audit, reaffirms investment rules and reviews waterfront projects

The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) unanimously approved a resolution accepting the agency's 2024 financial audit and reaffirmed its investment guidelines at a regularly scheduled meeting, while staff and board members reviewed major property holdings and warned of a looming operating shortfall as federal grant revenue lags inflation.

The agency voted to approve the audit prepared by the accounting firm Incero (resolution in the meeting packet) and then adopted a separate resolution reaffirming the IURA's investment guidelines. Both motions passed without dissent. Nels, IURA staff, told the board the audit was "what we categorize as a clean financial audit. There's no findings. There's no recommendations. There's no deficiencies identified." Board members then discussed the agency's real estate holdings and near-term funding options.

The vote to accept the financial report covers the agency's fiscal period 01/01/2024 through 12/31/2024 and authorizes submission of the audit report as required under state reporting rules. The investment guidelines resolution restated the agency's practice of holding funds at FDIC-insured institutions and using collateral agreements for deposits above the FDIC insurance limit.

Why it matters: IURA staff emphasized the agency's solid short-term fund balance but warned that grant revenues have not kept pace with inflation, creating an operating gap once one-time federal ARP administrative funding is expended. The board also used the session to update its approach to several key downtown and waterfront properties, including Cherry Street and Inlet Island, which could generate revenue or require remediation before development.

Key details from the meeting

Audit and finances Nels summarized the audit and the agency's fiscal position, saying the agency has "about $1,800,000" in fund balance but that much of that is restricted to specific programs. He noted the audit uses a modified-accrual basis and that about $80,000 in accrued vacation is not included in the reported numbers. Nels told the board that the agency's core operating budget to maintain roughly 3.6 full-time equivalent positions and basic operations runs closer to $440,000 a year, and that the city-level CDBG and HOME allocations…