Parkland gets clean FY2025 audit; commission approves $6.6M road improvement note at 4.01% lowering resident assessments
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Summary
Auditors delivered an unmodified opinion on Parkland’s FY2025 annual comprehensive financial report; the commission unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a roadway improvement special assessment revenue note up to $6.6 million (direct placement at 4.01%), lowering estimated assessments for some parcels compared with prior assumptions and creating two new debt service funds as part of a midyear budget amendment.
The City of Parkland received an unmodified (clean) audit opinion on its FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and the commission moved forward with financing that staff said will lower homeowners’ special assessments tied to two roadway projects.
Jamie Blank, senior manager at Caballero, Fierman, Yerena & Garcia, presented the audit and told the commission the FY2025 financial statements present fairly in all material respects. The auditor reported no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control and no instances of noncompliance discovered in testing; staff and external auditors said there were no disagreements during the engagement. The report lists an unassigned general fund balance of about $33.7 million as of Sept. 30, 2025.
Finance Director Kelly Schwartz asked the commission to approve a resolution authorizing a roadway improvement special assessment revenue note, series 2026, with a loan amount not to exceed $6.6 million to finance capital improvements for two projects (Pine Tree Estates and The Ranches). After soliciting proposals and negotiating directly, staff said TD Bank’s direct placement offer locked at a 4.01% interest rate—below the 5.5% rate used in earlier amortization assumptions—reducing estimated annual assessments. Examples given by staff: Pine Tree Estates per buildable lot estimates were revised from roughly $602/year to about $500/year; The Ranches per assigned acre moved from earlier estimates to about $692/year with the city’s additional $1 million contribution factored in.
The commission unanimously approved the loan authorization and the documents will be signed after the meeting. Staff noted that the future debt service will be funded through the annual special assessments collected by the uniform method; properties that pre‑paid earlier will not be included in the loan. Schwartz also described required budget covenant backstops that were part of the financing to guarantee funds to the lender.
Separately, the commission approved a FY2026 midyear budget amendment on first reading to formalize transfers and create two new debt service funds tied to the loans; staff said most of the amendment reallocates previously approved items (for example, transferring previously approved funds to complete multi‑year projects such as Wedge Preserve Park and a demolition of the former Heron Bay Golf Course). The amendment passed unanimously on first reading.
No public speakers contested the audit or the financing at the meeting; commissioners thanked finance staff and auditors for the work.
