Texas Municipal League: Seymour close to catching up on audits; March 29 deadline emphasized
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Summary
A Texas Municipal League representative told the Seymour council the city is nearly current on audits after multi-year delays and described steps taken to reconcile cash, train staff and finish the 2024 audit. The TML representative warned of a March 29 legal deadline for audit approval and noted enforcement uncertainty under recent state changes.
Marty Simpson of the Texas Municipal League told the Seymour City Council on Oct. 18 that TML staff and city finance personnel have made significant progress reconciling accounts and expect to complete the 2024 audit within weeks.
Simpson said TML’s work has reduced the number of active bank accounts in the city’s records and that staff received training on reconciling cash accounts in the municipal accounting system (ENCODE). She described the objective as getting the city’s cash “right” so auditors can complete their work. “The most important thing about your audit is getting your cash right,” Simpson said.
Simpson told the council the city had been several years behind on audits when TML began assistance in mid‑2024 but is now close to current. She said the goal is to finish the 2024 audit within the month and to move immediately into the 2025 audit. City staff present said an accounting firm engaged with the council would be completing remaining items quickly.
Simpson also discussed a change in state law that has increased scrutiny of tax-rate and audit timing decisions. She said the law requires municipal audits to be approved by the council by March 29 and that recent ambiguities have led to Attorney General complaints against several Texas cities. “If you get reported, you have a chance to fight that,” Simpson said, noting TML and the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas (GFOAT) are working with affected cities and with the Legislature’s drafters to clarify enforcement.
Simpson described concrete steps taken with Seymour staff: consolidating pooled cash in ENCODE to reduce manual reconciliation across many bank accounts; reviewing bank statements with a “fine-tooth comb” to post missing deposits or withdrawals; and training multiple staff members so the process has backup coverage. She said a TML auditor would meet with city staff the following morning to walk through outstanding items.
Why it matters: Municipal audits are the primary fiscal oversight tool for local government. The council must adopt audited financial statements within the timeline established by state law; missing deadlines has recently triggered formal complaints in other Texas cities.
Next steps: City staff and TML expect to present finalized audit documents to the council within weeks and to begin the 2025 audit cycle. Simpson said TML would continue to assist with reporting and with legal questions arising from the recent state-law changes.
