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Council presses for completed audits and cautions on large spending while fund balance is unclear
Summary
Finance director Victoria Sanchez told the council she is reconciling reserves and closing delayed audits and expects to report more complete fund‑balance information by mid‑2026. Councilors voted to hold some capital spending until audits and reconciliations provide a clearer picture of available funds.
The Alpine City Council spent substantial time reviewing the city’s fiscal position and audit timeline after Finance Director Victoria Sanchez summarized a months‑long effort to reconcile reserves, identify expenditures tied to specific funds and close overdue audits. Sanchez said she is researching reserve commitments dating back several years and working with auditors to close fiscal‑year audits; she set a goal of completing the outstanding audit work in 2026 and said the city is still reconciling ARPA (American Rescue Plan) expenditures.
Why it matters: Councilors said they approved a fiscal year budget that relied on fund balance to close a projected gap and expressed concern that substantial capital plans may be premature until the audits and fund balance reconciliations are complete. Several council members urged staff to pause or delay non‑urgent capital spending and to schedule a budget workshop focused on utilities and enterprise funds.
Key points from finance: Sanchez identified specific reserves under review (Creek Trail/splash pad, airport, capital improvements, water/sewer infrastructure and Pueblo Nuevo Park). She reported the ARPA award received in 2021 of about $1.418 million and said her initial coding work identified roughly $1,341,894 in expenditures that could be tied to ARPA, leaving an available ARPA balance of about $141,825 pending final reconciliation. Sanchez cautioned that many expenditures have not been properly classified in the ledger, which requires careful reclassification to avoid audit exposure.
Council response and action items: Council member Stevens asked staff to delay large capital and CIP actions (for example, the Skyway Gardens project and some utility capital replacements) pending audit closure and a clearer fund‑balance statement. The council agreed to schedule a budget workshop (proposed Nov. 4 at 4 p.m., with a follow‑up Nov. 18 if needed) to review the FY 2025‑26 budget line‑by‑line with department heads, focusing on utility enterprise deficits and potential personnel changes. Sanchez said her goal is to complete both outstanding audit years and have reliable closing entries by June 2026 so the council can make well‑informed budget decisions during the tax‑rate and budget cycle.
Operational implications: Several departments may delay planned procurements or capital improvements that exceed $50,000 without further council approval. Councilors said they want to ensure staffing decisions and temporary hires proceed where they address immediate operational capacity (for example, public works staffing and seasonal crews), but that larger, one‑time capital expenses should be validated against reconciled fund balances.
Next steps: Finance will continue the reserve reconciliation work and will present a prioritized list of budget line items that were rolled forward into FY 2025‑26 for council review. The council requested a workshop focused on utilities as a priority and asked staff to bring line‑item reports and staffing counts to the meeting so members can consider targeted budget amendments.
