Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Financial Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Haymarket JPA accepts clean audit; fund balance covers about two years of debt service
Summary
Auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the JPA’s fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2024. The finance director and the auditor told the board the JPA’s fund balance assigned for debt service is about $46 million, roughly two years of debt service based on current obligations.
The West Haymarket Joint Public Agency on April 3, 2025, accepted the financial audit and management letter from Forvis Mazars for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2024. City Finance Director Joe Downlinger presented the audit packet and said the JPA received a clean, unmodified opinion.
Auditor representative Chris Linner (Forvis Mazars) told the board the audit produced an unmodified opinion and that the audit and the government-auditing-standards review found no material weaknesses or reportable control findings. Linner said auditors did not require adjustments to management-prepared financial statements.
Downlinger highlighted two figures from the audit packet: a fund balance assigned for debt service of approximately $46,000,000 as of Aug. 31, 2024, and occupation-tax collections for the fiscal year of $22,300,000, which exceeded original projections by $6,900,000 (about 45%). He said the collections “put the forecast at about what was originally contemplated to be received around the year 2043,” as recorded in the packet.
When asked whether the $46 million fund balance implies the JPA could pay debt service for two years without additional revenue, Downlinger confirmed the arithmetic: the JPA’s annual debt obligation is about $23,300,000, and the assigned debt-service fund balance divided by annual debt approximates two years. Downlinger and the auditor noted this is a simple liquidity illustration and that it is not realistic to assume zero future occupation-tax receipts; both said the JPA remains in a strong financial position and has a buffer that would prevent use of a general-obligation backstop in current projections.
There was no public comment on the audit item. The board approved the audit acceptance on a roll-call vote of 2–0.
Why this matters
An unmodified audit opinion signals that auditors did not identify material misstatements in JPA financial statements for the fiscal year. The reported fund balance and stronger-than-expected occupation-tax receipts increase the JPA’s near-term capacity to meet debt obligations; staff emphasized the figures illustrate liquidity and are not a guarantee of future collections.
Ending
The JPA accepted the audit and management letter; staff and auditors said they will continue routine financial reporting and monitoring. The JPA’s next meeting was announced for April 29, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. in council chambers.
