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Midland posts zero audit findings for FY2024, finance director says
Summary
City finance director Christy Weekland told the Midland City Council the FY2024 annual comprehensive financial report closed with zero audit findings for the second year in a row, and staff outlined steps for maintaining fiscal stability and funding future capital needs.
Midland's finance director told the City Council on April 8 that the city's audited financial statements for the year ending Sept. 30, 2024, contained no audit findings, marking the second consecutive year without reportable issues.
Christy Weekland, director of finance, presented the city's FY2024 annual comprehensive financial report and the auditors' required communications, saying the audit provides "reasonable assurance that the financials are accurate and in conformity with generally accepted accounting standards" and that "for the second year in a row, we have 0 audit findings." She said the result reflects strengthened internal controls and "stronger monitoring and execution of our finances."
The report covers the city's general fund and enterprise funds and noted a number of management actions taken in the past 18 months to improve long-term stability. Weekland outlined measures including: creating a park maintenance fund to secure funding for new parks; establishing a stabilization fund intended to receive an expected FAA reimbursement of about $5,000,000 tied to the airport; and restructuring some enterprise funds so they no longer require subsidy from the general fund. She also said the city used 380 agreements and tax increment reinvestment strategies (TIRS) to better align revenue streams with related expenditures.
Weekland told the council the auditors performed the engagement to provide reasonable—not absolute—assurance and that management is responsible for financial statements. She said auditors "saw no unusual accounting treatments or uncorrected misstatements." She added the city has completed hotel-audit work on a first tranche of 20 of the city's roughly 61 hotels and currently anticipates about $500,000 in additional recoveries from those audits.
Mayor Lori Belong and council members praised the finance team. The mayor said the result is "a clean bill of health for the city" and thanked staff for the work that yielded the awards and recognition Weekland described. Weekland brought several finance staff to the meeting and noted informal staff recognitions used during the audit process.
The FY2024 ACFR will be posted to the city's website for public access; Weekland said revised financial policies and additional audits (franchise fees, hotels, sales tax) will continue as staff implements new procedures.
Ending: Weekland said the city will continue to refine policies and monitoring to preserve fund balances and protect city assets; council expressed support and appreciation for the finance team's work.
