External audit: DeLand’s fiscal 2024 financials receive unmodified opinion; general fund reserves rise about $4 million

The City of DeLand’s independent auditors issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the city’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, and reported no findings in the federal or state single-audit reviews, the auditing firm told the City Commission.

Zach Challifor, partner with James Moore & Company, presented the annual comprehensive financial audit and said the “financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects,” the highest level of assurance an auditor issues. He said the firm performed both federal and state single audits and identified no findings. “That’s the best opinion that we can issue and what you want to see here,” Challifor said.

Why it matters: a clean audit and no single-audit findings limit near-term regulatory exposure, support the city’s financial credibility with lenders and grantors, and show the city met compliance requirements for major federal and state grant programs.

Key audit takeaways from the presentation: - The city’s general fund unrestricted balance rose about 10% from the prior year — roughly $4 million — driven by increases in assigned and unassigned reserves. Challifor said the general fund reserves equate to about 67% of typical spending, or about eight months of operating coverage, well above the Government Finance Officers Association’s two-month minimum recommendation. - Enterprise funds, including utilities, ended the year with positive unrestricted net positions. - The city issued new debt in the utility fund, largely to record subsidized State Revolving Fund financing (very low interest), which appears manageable in the audit’s view. - The audits identified a separate observation related to building department carry-forward limitations, described as a recommendation rather than a formal finding. - The combined net pension liability reported in the financial statements totaled close to $30 million; Challifor stressed this figure is informational and reflects long-term funding status rather than an immediate cash obligation.

The commission also heard quarterly financial information for the three months ending Dec. 31, 2024, from Finance Director Dan Stauffer. Stauffer reported general fund revenues were tracking near expectations at the first-quarter mark (representing roughly 25% of the fiscal year): property taxes were about 76% collected through Dec. 31 compared with 86% at the same point in the prior year (with Stauffer attributing the difference to payment timing). He said general fund expenditures were at about 19% of budget through the quarter; personnel costs were 21% of budget and operating costs 19%. Stauffer reported the undesignated general fund balance held a surplus of just over $1 million above the two-month reserve requirement. For the water and sewer enterprise, undesignated reserves were about $2.5 million above the required three-month reserve.

Internal audit: Interim City Clerk Julie Hewitt briefed the commission about six internal audits completed without findings. Hewitt said departments cooperated and helped the internal audit team navigate new departmental technologies; commissioners thanked staff for the outcome.

Ending: Commissioners praised finance staff for the timely audit turnaround and the strong reserve position. Auditors and staff said they were available to answer detailed questions about pension valuations, department-specific observations, or the building-department carry-forward observation.