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City manager: late audits have prompted state to hold CRA funds; city expects audit draft by May 15
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Summary
High Springs officials told the commission that state-held Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds are on temporary hold because the city's audit is overdue; auditors hope to finish work by May 15 and the city expects a 4–6 week window to address findings before funds are fully released.
City leaders told the High Springs City Commission that funds earmarked for the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) from state sources have been temporarily held because the city’s audit work is late.
The city attorney read an email from Florida Commerce noting a deadline: “They noted that if the report is not filed before May 4, the department will proceed with filing the petition. But upon the submission of the report and the receipt of a stop enforcement letter from JLAC, the department will dismiss the petition,” the city attorney read aloud.
The city manager told the commission officials have met with auditors and made rapid progress in recent weeks. He said the auditors hope to complete the audit work and partner review by May 15 and that the city would then have roughly a month to six weeks to address any findings. “We got 22 items fulfilled this week alone,” the city manager said, describing accelerated remedial work.
Staff and commissioners described technical causes for the delay, including a 2022 change to the uniform chart of accounts that disrupted back-end mappings in the city’s accounting system (Springbrook). The mapping problems reportedly affected payroll and reporting and required many manual fixes. One commissioner summarized the situation as a concentrated effort to catch up: auditors and staff made much of the progress in roughly three weeks.
City staff said they are discussing whether to retain Springbrook long term or switch to other municipal systems in the future; staff noted migration costs and the difficulty of changing software while audits are underway. The city manager said a contracted finance director recently started and that staff are working to complete the audit backlog so future audits are on time.
Officials emphasized the importance of completing the audit to restore state funding flows and to give the commission accurate trial balances before budget season. The city manager urged the commission not to tolerate future audit delays and said staff will continue to prioritize completion and remediation work.
