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Hamilton Council accepts 2023 audit, approves corrective-action plan
Summary
Council heard Mercadien's auditors report a clean (unmodified) opinion on the 2023 financial and single audits, noted one rolling internal-control finding, and unanimously approved a corrective-action resolution and certification to the Local Finance Board.
The Hamilton Township Council on Sept. 17 accepted the 2023 financial audit and approved a corrective-action plan after a brief presentation by Mercadien auditors.
Matt Bailey, identified in the record as a director with Mercadien, told the council the audit and single audit were complete and that the firm issued an "unmodified or clean opinion" on both reports. Bailey said auditors found no noncompliance with laws or contracts and reported increases in total assets, liabilities and fund balance compared with the prior year. He also noted one continuing internal-control matter related to financial-reporting tracking and reconciliations that carried forward from the prior year and is being addressed.
The auditors reported roughly $7,900,000 in federal grants and about $2,000,000 in state grants subject to single-audit testing. Bailey said four major programs were selected for testing — the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Green Acres Open Space items and Municipal Aid — and that Mercadien found no questioned costs in its testing of those programs.
Council members asked how ARPA transactions are sampled during single-audit procedures. Bailey explained the single-audit basis is paid disbursements and that ARPA and other COVID-related funding are treated as higher-risk programs requiring larger samples. He said HUD performed monitoring of the CDBG program in 2024 and that finance staff and the Housing Authority moved quickly to correct prior HUD findings.
After discussion, the council voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 24-364, approving the township's corrective-action plan for the 2023 annual audit, and then adopted Resolution 24-365 certifying the council's review to the state Local Finance Board. The clerk recorded the roll-call tallies as affirmative by sitting members.
The council and auditors thanked township finance staff — including John, Eugenia and Kathy, named during the presentation — for cooperation and timely responses during the audit.
The council directed staff to continue implementing the listed corrective actions and to report back on outstanding reconciliations and trust-fund tracking; no additional findings were disclosed at the meeting.
