Port Arthur council accepts FY2024 audit; single audit shows one remaining finding

Port Arthur City Council voted to accept the city’s fiscal year 2024 audit and accompanying reports on June 30, approving the annual comprehensive financial report and the single audit report for the year ended Sept. 30, 2024.

Lynn Boswell, the city’s director of finance, told the council the city has cleared prior outstanding audit findings and that the 2024 reports constitute a final package. "We are no longer behind. We are we are clear, done, and this is the final report," Boswell said during the special meeting.

Boswell told the council the single audit contains one remaining finding, located on page 12 of the single-audit document, and that the city included a written response on page 14. She described the outstanding item as an internal control matter within the finance office related to bank reconciliations, accounts payable and receivable, and journal entries, and said she is working to provide auditors a "clean journal ledger" to remove the finding. "The goal is going to be to have no findings," Boswell said, adding she hopes to resolve the remaining issue in fiscal 2025 or, if necessary, 2026.

Council members asked how they could help address the issue. Boswell asked the council to continue supporting the city manager when staffing or resource requests are made on the finance department’s behalf. A council member also asked for a report at a future meeting about how the completed audit will affect the city’s ability to secure grants and loans; the city manager said staff will return with additional presentation material and that the audit package will be submitted to the Texas Water Development Board by the board’s 5 p.m. deadline to access funding.

Councilmember Ella Everfield moved to accept the resolution identified in the meeting materials as PR24415, which called for the council to accept the annual audit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, approve the annual comprehensive financial report for that year, and approve the single audit report as of Sept. 30, 2024. The motion was seconded and passed; the clerk recorded "ayes" and the mayor declared the motion adopted.

Boswell also told the council the city’s current auditors will be engaged for one more year and that a request for proposals will go out in January. She thanked current and past staff and outside partners who assisted with the audit, naming former staff member Ariel Gibbs and outside accountant Doug Martella.

The special meeting lasted under 20 minutes and focused exclusively on the audit item. With the audit accepted, council members said they will scrutinize the FY2024 numbers closely during upcoming budget deliberations and expect staff to present future spending requests with clear linkage to the completed financial reports.

Documentation referenced at the meeting included the annual comprehensive financial report and the single audit report (single-audit finding on page 12 and the city's written response on page 14). The council adjourned after the vote.