Valley Transit audit returns clean opinion; agency reports $18.5 million net position

Leah Lasecki, signing principal for CLA, told the Valley Transit Commission the agency received an unmodified (clean) audit opinion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024.

Lasecki said the audit showed no findings for internal controls and that neither the state single audit nor the federal single audit produced findings for the transit operations. "We gave transit a clean audit opinion or an unmodified audit opinion, meaning that we believe that your financial statements are materially stated correctly," Lasecki said.

The clean opinion matters because it signals to the commission and grantors that Valley Transit’s external financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting standards and that the auditors found no material weaknesses. The audit also flagged that transit’s accounting is on an accrual basis and that recent increases in net position reflect large capital grant receipts rather than operating surpluses.

Auditors and staff noted several balance-sheet and operating highlights. Valley Transit’s total assets were roughly $22,000,000 at year-end, up about $2,500,000 from the prior year, with most of the increase tied to capital assets related to the Whitman facility project. Restricted cash and investments intended for funded depreciation were about $1,400,000 (up modestly from about $1,345,000 the prior year). Net position totaled about $18,500,000 at year-end versus about $15,300,000 the previous year; unrestricted net position — the agency’s most liquid reserve — was roughly $374,000 compared with $357,000 previously.

On the operating statement, auditors reported operating revenues of about $1,080,000, down about $121,000 (roughly 10%) from the prior year, primarily because of lower passenger fares. Total operating expenses were approximately $10.6 million, an increase of about $384,000 (about 3.7%), a change the auditor described as consistent with peer governments under current inflationary conditions. Nonoperating revenues — primarily operating assistance — totaled about $7.3 million (down roughly $153,000). Federal capital grants rose to nearly $5.0 million from about $2.3 million the prior year; the auditors explained that the spike in federal capital grant revenue inflated the year’s reported change in net position to about $3.3 million. Without those capital grants, the commission would have seen an operating deficit in the year-end financials, the auditor noted.

Kristin (staff member) prepares the financial statements with assistance from staff; Leah praised Deb for the Management’s Discussion and Analysis in the audit book and encouraged commissioners to review page 6 for background. "This MD&A is prepared entirely by Deb, and she does a fantastic job preparing it," Lasecki said.

Commissioners were also directed to a budget schedule (page 42 of the audit book) showing the entity reported a roughly $2.3 million favorable variance to budget in the year, which the auditor said reflects conservative budgeting and some front‑loading of expenditures.

The audit briefing concluded with an invitation for commissioners to ask questions; none were raised. The auditor and staff did not recommend any formal corrective actions because the audit produced no internal-control findings or reportable deficiencies.

The commission did not take action on the audit itself during the meeting; the presentation served as an informational item.