Finance director outlines draft FY24 audit and near-term budget outlook

John Magme, the town's finance director, presented the draft FY24 audit and a preliminary look at FY25 during the Little Compton Town Council meeting. Magme said the FY24 audit is in draft form and is about 124 pages; auditors have proposed a small number of adjusting entries and the town expects to issue the completed audit in early January. "We do have a draft, preliminary draft of the '24 audit," Magme said, and later added that the office is "hoping to get this thing issued in, probably early January."

Magme summarized unaudited general-fund results and reconciled adjustments that raised the town's fund balance. He reported the combined unaudited FY24 and preliminary FY25 figures leave an accumulated surplus of about $599,004, which he said is better than an earlier projection of roughly $200,000. He noted some technical adjustments the auditors proposed but said he did not expect them to change the overall position materially. "That was 300 and some odd thousand dollars," Magme said of a housing-aid adjustment that increased the fund balance.

On cash flow, Magme reported year-to-date revenues through November of about $8.0 million against roughly $7.47 million in expenses, producing positive cash flow going into December. He cautioned that pressures are likely later in FY25, particularly around the June payroll period, and said the town will monitor third- and fourth-quarter results closely. He also described collection activity: motor-vehicle delinquencies were referred to the Rossi law firm, and the town anticipates moving forward with a real-estate tax sale in January that could collect roughly $300,000 in outstanding taxes.

Councilors thanked Magme for the report. Speaker 3 moved that the council receive the finance director's report; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The council also confirmed continued coordination with the auditor-general and the state Department of Revenue; Magme said the auditor-general's office view of the town's draft financials has been "positive" and a follow-up meeting is scheduled for Jan. 13.

The council scheduled interviews for three open positions on Jan. 8 and asked staff to prepare materials to support ongoing budget and audit work. The finance director said he is starting work on FY25 numbers so auditors can begin work on that year once the FY24 audit is finalized.