Independent auditor gives Newport clean opinion for FY 2024; no material weaknesses reported

The council received the annual audit from Brown, Jake & McDaniels, who reported an unmodified (clean) opinion on the City of Newport’s FY 2024 financial statements, including government-wide statements and fund statements.

Frank (auditor) told the council there were few adjusting entries (which city staff posted), no disagreements with management on accounting standards, and no reportable internal-control deficiencies or material weaknesses. The auditors also performed the uniform guidance (single audit) because city and school entities received more than $750,000 in federal funds; the single-audit testing of major federal programs produced a clean opinion with no questioned costs.

Key figures cited by the audit presenter: the city’s overall fund balance was reported at approximately $13,960,000 with an unassigned fund balance of about $13,662,820. The auditor said that ratio equates to roughly 100% of annual expenditures and noted it as a healthy position (the auditor said 50–75% is a healthy range). The general fund grew about $1.1 million during the fiscal year; the schools’ fund balance increased by about $1.3 million.

The audit includes required supplementary information, pension and post-employment benefit disclosures, debt amortization schedules and utility enterprise information. Prior-year school findings were reported as corrected in the current audit.

Council members thanked finance staff (Tina and James) for their work. The auditor noted that the city’s reserve funds were important in the city’s rapid recovery after a recent flood, but cautioned that those reserves would decline as flood-related rebuilding costs are incurred.

No formal council action was required on the audit presentation; members accepted the report and asked follow-up questions about specific disclosures and reporting timelines.