Wellington finance committee hears audit timeline, property-tax hold and grant updates during work session

WELLINGTON, Jan. — Wellington Town finance staff told the finance committee during a Jan. work session that the town is making progress on overdue audits but still faces a July 31 statutory deadline to have prior-year audits complete and that county-held property-tax distributions will remain on hold until audits are submitted and reviewed.

The update, given in a meeting conducted in work-session mode because a quorum was not present, summarized the status of the 2022 and 2023 audits and described how the county and state processes affect cash flow. "We have to have it by July 31st," a finance staff member said of the 2024 audit deadline. The committee was told staff expect to submit a final draft of the 2022 audit and that the town has not requested any further extensions.

Why it matters: property-tax distributions and certain grant reimbursements are being held pending audited financial statements, which affects the town—9s cash-management planning and the timing of reimbursements tied to the $850,000 revitalizing Main Street grant.

Committee discussion and details

Finance staff briefed the committee that the MD&A draft for the 2022 audit had been returned to the auditor and that the town submitted a 2023 trial balance that will be resubmitted with journal entries from the 2022 audit. Staff said revenues from the state lag by two months, meaning a February deposit reflects December receipts. The county releases funds roughly once a month around the 10th, staff said, so timing of submission affects the next monthly distribution.

Committee members asked what would happen if the town missed the July 31 deadline. A finance staff member said they had not identified any direct financial penalties but warned that audit delays could "impact our ability to receive grants" and could affect continued release of funds from the county. The staff member said the state auditor had issued a hold on funds and would issue a release once the audit review was complete.

Treasurer's report and budget items

The committee also reviewed the November treasurer's report. Members noted page 12 showed zero for IT wages and salaries; staff confirmed the town had budgeted about $75,000 for an IT specialist/manager, a position deferred earlier in the year and now included in the 2025 budget. "We actually are hiring right now," a finance staff member said.

Members discussed a budgeted $850,000 line item on page 16 for the revitalizing Main Street project and were told the town has not received funds yet; invoices to the contractor will trigger requests to the state for payment or reimbursements depending on the grant's disbursement method. Staff said the budgeted grant amount carried over to the current fiscal planning and that there were no corresponding expenses recorded yet.

Other items and direction to staff

Trustee Cannon delivered a board liaison report that praised recent finance work and noted ongoing challenges, including increased water rates that have required transfers from the general fund to the water fund. Trustee Cannon referenced continued use of an outside consultant, saying the board had approved retaining "Don on retainer" for extra hours.

The committee was also briefed on an upcoming tentative ribbon-cutting for the wastewater treatment plant, tentatively scheduled for March 12, and on the town's submission for the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) outstanding budget award.

Action and next steps

Because the finance committee met as a work session with no quorum, it took no formal votes. Trustees at the board's recent work session gave staff direction to prioritize completion of the 2022 audit before taking additional committee actions. Staff told the committee they are in regular communication with the auditor and expect to finalize outstanding items in the coming months.

Quotes from the meeting

"We will not be doing roll call or votes, meaning we won't have, we won't be doing the consent agenda either," a finance staff member said at the start of the meeting to explain the work session format.

"We have to have it by July 31st," the finance staff member added referring to the annual audit deadline.

Ending

The committee concluded the work session without formal votes and requested staff continue communicating timelines for audit completion and the timing of county and state disbursements related to withheld property-tax funds and the Main Street grant. Trustees said they plan to revisit follow-up items once the 2022 audit is submitted and processed by the state auditor.