Auditors: Village of Mineola in "excellent financial position"; trustees adopt audit and approve transfer to pay fire headquarters bond

External auditors told the Village of Mineola Board of Trustees that the village is in an “excellent financial position” and presented audited financial statements for the year ended May 31, 2025; trustees voted to accept the report and to transfer $551,956.72 from the capital projects fund to the general fund to pay down the Mineola Fire Department headquarters serial bonds, 2021 Series A.

The audit presentation, delivered by a representative identified in the meeting as Mr. Barrett of Rincar Veil and Barrett and by Alicia Zabala, senior manager at the firm, summarized the village’s statements prepared under Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirements. “Our audit confirms what you already know. The Village is in excellent financial position,” Mr. Barrett said during the presentation. Barrett also read the audit opinion that the financial statements “present fairly in all material respects” in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

The auditors reported the village’s capital assets at $70,229,000 and total long-term liabilities at $96,982,000 on a full-accrual basis. The presentation noted a net position deficit of roughly $8,795,000 on the full-accrual statement of net position — a result auditors said is common for governments because certain long-term liabilities (pension and other postemployment benefits) are recorded on that basis while not currently funded. On a modified-accrual basis, which the village uses for budgeting, the general fund showed an ending fund balance of $20,813,000, with an unassigned balance of $12,847,000 (about 5.8 months of the current year’s expenditures). The water fund ended with a fund balance of $3,018,000 (about nine months of expenditures), and the capital projects fund had a balance of $8,355,000 described as unspent bond proceeds.

The auditors told trustees that general fund revenues increased by about $2.7 million, driven largely by licensing and permits and by fines and forfeitures, and that general fund expenditures rose primarily because of increased transportation/roadwork spending. The capital projects fund showed a decrease in fund balance of about $3,985,000 reflecting planned spending of bond proceeds for ongoing projects, including water facility improvements and finishing the new fire headquarters.

On internal controls and compliance, the auditors reported no material weaknesses and no instances of noncompliance required to be reported under government auditing standards. They also said management cooperated during the audit and that identified misstatements were corrected. As part of required communications, the auditors noted the village adopted a new accounting pronouncement during the year (referred to in the presentation as “GASB 101”) and that actuarial estimates were used for pension and other postemployment benefit liabilities.

Trustees voted unanimously to accept the independent auditor’s report as presented. Separately, the board approved a transfer of $551,956.72 from the capital projects fund to the general fund “in reference to the Mineola Fire Department headquarters serial bonds 2021 Series A”; board members said the transferred funds will be used to begin paying down that debt.

The auditors’ presentation included a schedule of current capital projects and a summary of budget-to-actual results for major funds. The auditors highlighted that the village’s unassigned general fund balance provides what they described as a healthy cushion should revenues tighten at the state or federal level.

The board’s vote to accept the audit and the transfer followed the auditors’ presentation; trustees had no substantive questions that altered the report’s findings during the meeting.

The audit presentation and the board’s acceptance concluded the finance-related agenda items; routine business and other resolutions followed later in the meeting.