Roswell council accepts state auditor's special audit after presentation of 27 findings

The Roswell City Council on March 13 accepted a special audit conducted for the city by an independent accounting firm under the direction of the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor, resolving to make the report public and to pursue the corrective steps the audit recommends.

The report, which covers the period Feb. 2017 through Feb. 2022 and lists 27 findings, was summarized to the council by Audrey Jaramillo, the independent public accountant who led the audit engagement for the Jaramillo Group, and by New Mexico State Auditor Joe Maestas. The council passed Resolution 25-14 authorizing publication of the report.

Audrey Jaramillo told the council the engagement was a consulting-style special audit, not a full financial statement opinion, and that the auditors were limited to the documents and records provided by the city. She said the report lists a broad set of control weaknesses and compliance failures, including alleged violations of the Governmental Conduct Act, possible anti-donation concerns under the state constitution,…