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Bay City receives clean audit; general fund posts modest increase
Summary
Independent auditors delivered an unmodified opinion on Bay City's annual comprehensive financial report for the year ending Sept. 30, 2024, reporting increases in net position for both governmental and business-type activities and no material weaknesses; city council approved the ACFR.
Bay City officials approved the City of Bay City's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, after an independent auditor told the council the firm issued an unmodified opinion and found no material weaknesses.
Melissa Terry, a certified public accountant and partner with the city's auditing firm, told the council, “we have completed the audit,” and said auditors issued the same unmodified opinion the city has received in past years. Terry said the audit identified no findings, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the city's internal controls or financial statements.
The audit showed the city’s government-wide net position increased to about $57.4 million at Sept. 30, 2024, up roughly $5.8 million from the prior year. Governmental activities rose by about $3.4 million and business-type activities—chiefly the water and sewer system plus the airport—rose by about $2.4 million, Terry said. She attributed part of the increase to higher collections for sanitation and water and sewer services, and to rate and contract changes that increased charges for services.
On the fund level, the general fund ended the year with a fund balance of about $5.8 million, with an unassigned fund balance around $5.0 million — roughly 36% of operating expenditures for the year. Terry told the council there was a positive variance relative to the final amended budget: the city’s general fund finished the year about $802,000 better than expected, principally from personnel-cost savings and other expenditure variances.
Because federal expenditures exceeded the statutory threshold, the city underwent a single-audit review of federal programs. Terry said the city expended roughly $1.6 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds during the fiscal year and that auditors reported no findings on compliance with the major federal programs that were tested.
Councilmember comments praised staff and the auditing team. After the presentation the council voted to accept the ACFR and related audit communications.
