City auditor issues clean opinion on Woodbury’s 2024 financials; council accepts report

The Woodbury City Council on Aug. 27 unanimously accepted the 2024 audited financial statements, the communication letter, and the reports on compliance with government auditing standards and legal compliance after a presentation by Bergen KDV auditor Ryan Englstedt.

Nut graf: Auditor Ryan Englstedt told council Bergen KDV issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the city’s 2024 financial statements; auditors proposed narrow, technical adjustments related to capital asset allocations and developer contributions, and found no reportable state compliance issues or federal single‑audit findings for the federal awards tested (including pandemic relief fund usage).

Audit highlights and technical items Englstedt summarized the audit work performed for the city, noting the auditor’s responsibility to provide reasonable assurance that the statements are free of material misstatement. He said staff provided good documentation and internal controls generally functioned well. The audit resulted in an unmodified opinion — the standard for a clean audit — which rating agencies and oversight bodies prefer.

Auditors identified a limited internal‑control communication tied to required accounting adjustments in capital asset allocations (allocation of joint costs between governmental and business‑type activities) and recognition of developer contributions; staff recorded proposed adjustments. Englstedt characterized these as technical, narrow items rather than pervasive control weaknesses.

State and federal compliance The auditors reviewed state legal compliance (Minnesota State Auditor guidance) — including procurement, deposits and pledged securities — and reported no findings. Because the city’s federal grant expenditures exceeded the single‑audit threshold, auditors performed federal awards testing focused on pandemic relief funds and other grants; Englstedt said those tests did not identify reportable compliance findings.

Selected financial trends and context Ryan and city staff presented selected financial indicators comparing Woodbury against similarly sized Twin Cities suburbs (available comparative data lagged to 2021–22): - Governmental fund revenues per capita trended up about 5% year‑over‑year from 2023 to 2024. - Current (operating) expenditures increased roughly 3.5% year‑over‑year, reflecting cost containment amid labor and market pressures. - The city’s total governmental revenues are about 70% of the metro average on a per‑capita basis; property tax revenue is about 80% of the metro average and local government aid is minimal (near zero) for Woodbury. - Capital outlay per capita rose in 2024 chiefly because of the Central Park renovation project. - Tax capacity for the city rose about 13% from 2023 to 2024 while the levy rose about 9%; when capacity grows faster than the levy, the effective tax rate falls.

Council action Following the presentation, a council member moved to accept the audited financial statements, the auditor communication letter and the reports on compliance. The council voted unanimously to accept the audit and related reports (roll call: Santini, Stafford, Wilson, Morris and Mayor Burt — all aye).

Why it matters A clean audit supports the city’s financial transparency, strengthens the city’s position for future bond or credit considerations and signals federal‑grant compliance. The limited technical adjustments are standard in local government audits, especially where capital project accounting and developer contributions require allocation and recognition entries.

Next steps Staff and auditors will finalize any audit‑period adjusting journal entries and file required federal and state audit reports. The audit and related reports will be publicly available with the city’s annual comprehensive financial report and audit package.