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City of Canton's FY2024 audit shows $26 million increase in net position; auditors issue unmodified opinion
Summary
External auditors presented the City of Canton's fiscal year 2024 annual comprehensive financial report, saying they issued an unmodified (clean) opinion and noting a roughly $26 million increase in net position driven by higher revenues including ARPA and impact fees.
Sam Latimer, the external auditor, presented the City of Canton's fiscal year 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and told the council his team issued an unmodified opinion on the city's financial statements.
Latimer said the city's government-wide net position increased by roughly $26 million in 2024, a 46% growth over the prior year, and attributed much of the change to higher intergovernmental revenue tied to ARPA funds, a substantial jump in impact fees and increased alcohol license receipts. "We issued an unmodified opinion. It's what you would call a clean opinion," Latimer said.
The auditor reviewed both government-wide statements and the general fund. He told council that general fund revenues rose about 15% (roughly $3.3 million), with property tax revenue up $1.3 million (about 15%) and building-permit revenue up about $1.1 million (about 140%). Expenditures rose about 16%, with increases in police (about $780,000), streets (about $640,000, or 31%) and fire (about $600,000, or 11%). Latimer noted the city's unrestricted general-fund balance equaled about $16.8 million, or roughly 7.6 months of expenditures, versus 8.8 months the prior year after accounting for a nonspendable note receivable from the housing authority.
Latimer also described the water and sewer funds as "very, very healthy," reporting a gross margin of roughly 51% this year compared with 48% last year. He reported no audit findings for internal control and said the city's federal expenditures did not trigger compliance issues for the federal single-audit threshold in 2024. The auditor advised council of upcoming Governmental Accounting Standards Board changes that could affect future reporting, including GASB guidance on compensated absences and disclosures for certain capital assets.
Council thanked Latimer for the presentation. Latimer closed by inviting council members to contact him with questions.
Ending: Council accepted the presentation; no formal vote was required. The audit documents remain available in the council packet for further review.
