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Crowley receives unmodified FY2025 audit opinion despite an operating deficit, auditor says
Summary
Independent auditor Rob Carter told the Crowley Board of Aldermen the city received an unmodified opinion and auditors found no internal-control deficiencies, even as the audit showed a 2025 operating loss tied to prior-year grant and bond spending and a smaller-than-recommended general-fund balance.
The Crowley Board of Aldermen heard a presentation of the city’s fiscal year 2025 audit, during which independent auditor Rob Carter said the city’s financial statements received an unmodified opinion — the strongest possible verdict from external auditors — and that the audit identified no internal-control deficiencies.
"You guys received this year what's referred to as unmodified opinion. Unmodified is the best opinion you can get on your audited financial statements," Carter said as he walked through the summary and where to find the full reports in the audit packet. Carter told aldermen the independent-auditor’s report and the report on internal control and compliance are included in the full audit.
Carter summarized the consolidated numbers for 2025: total revenues of about $22,985,588 and total expenditures of $24,105,169, producing a roughly $1,119,611 operating loss. He said the city showed an overall deficiency of about $900,000, a result Carter attributed primarily to spending grant and bond proceeds that had been received in prior years.
The auditor also flagged fund-balance levels for the council’s attention: the unassigned general fund balance was about $1.3 million, below a common benchmark of three months’ operating costs (about $3.4 million). Carter noted the sewer fund showed an operating loss for 2025 and that debt restructuring had freed some unrestricted net position, giving the city flexibility but warranting monitoring.
Alderman Vernon Martin pressed for more detail. "When it come down to money, I wanna know where my money's gone," Martin said, asking for a face-to-face briefing with the auditor and staff to review project balances such as the pavilion grant. Carter offered to meet and dig into the detailed schedules.
Mayor thanked city staff, specifically the city clerk Chantel, for the work that produced an audit with no findings. "I want to personally thank the ladies at city hall," the mayor said, noting the staff had helped the city avoid audit findings this year.
The council did not take formal action on the audit at the meeting; aldermen asked staff to provide more detailed balance sheets and project-level numbers for follow-up later in the week.
