Boca Raton posts $24.4 million net position gain in 2024; auditors give clean opinion

City financial staff on Monday presented the City of Boca Raton’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for fiscal 2024 and a long‑range financial plan update covering projections through 2030. The report shows the city ended the year with about $1.5 billion in total assets, $469 million in liabilities and an overall increase in net position of roughly $24.4 million.

The presentation was led by the city’s finance director and deputy CFO and included an independent auditor’s report from CBIZ. Hermes Garzon, senior audit manager for CBIZ, told the council the firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the financial statements and reported no internal control material weaknesses or compliance exceptions. Garzon also reported the city met the thresholds for a single audit of federal and state awards; the auditors tested selected programs and found no reportable noncompliance.

Key numbers and takeaways: the city reported approximately $122.7 million in property tax revenue and roughly $469 million in total revenues across all funds. The general fund recorded $228.32 million in revenues, $217.0 million in expenditures and a year‑end general fund surplus of $7.7 million. Water and sewer enterprise operations showed roughly $84.2 million in revenues with an ending unrestricted net position of about $122 million.

City staff highlighted pension and OPEB (other post‑employment benefits) items. The ACFR’s pension schedules show pension funding improved after strong investment returns; staff told the council that timing differences contributed to year‑to‑year volatility and that the city maintains a separate retirement sustainability fund of roughly $50 million. Auditors recommended the city document the OPEB plan more formally; staff said they would prepare that documentation.

Sherry McGuire, budget director, presented the long‑range financial plan update. Her office used historical trends and conservative assumptions — for example a five‑year average growth assumption of about 5.2% for property tax revenue and modest increases for other revenues — and projected operations to 2030. The model shows expenditures growing slightly faster than revenues under current assumptions and a modest drawdown of unassigned fund balance over the forecast horizon. McGuire told the council staff recommends evaluating fee adjustments, cost containment, continued investment in economic development and maintaining fund balance policies as tools to manage the forecast.

The audit and compliance reports also flagged no federal or state grant noncompliance for the programs tested. Auditors noted one recommendation: formally document the city’s OPEB plan language. Council members asked several technical questions about assessed value growth, fund balance categories (nonspendable, restricted, committed, assigned, unassigned) and pension funding ratios; staff responded with supporting schedules showing a ten‑year history.

Next steps: staff will finalize ACFR submissions and follow up on the OPEB documentation. The long‑range financial plan will inform budget season work and staff recommended continued monitoring of pension contributions and fund balance targets.