Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gulfport council receives audit showing strong reserves and a clean opinion
Summary
City auditors told the Gulfport City Council they are issuing a "clean and unmodified opinion" on the city's financial statements; the council formally received the comprehensive annual financial report. Auditors highlighted large cash balances, a modest net increase in net position and a healthy general-fund position.
The Gulfport City Council on Oct. 8 received the city’s comprehensive annual financial report and supporting compliance reviews after independent auditors presented what they called a "clean and unmodified opinion." Lucas Hand, the senior manager who oversaw the audit, told the council the audit was completed under generally accepted auditing standards and government auditing standards.
Hand said the government-wide financial statements show total assets of about $877 million, including roughly $629 million in capital assets, and about $167 million in cash and cash equivalents. For the fiscal year the auditors reported approximately $146 million in revenues and $143 million in expenses, a net increase in net position of about $3.1 million. The general fund had revenues of roughly $72.3 million and expenditures of $65.8 million, leaving a fund balance equal to about 5.7 months of operating expenditures.
The audit presentation also included the required compliance reports. Because the city spent more than $750,000 in federal funds, the auditors performed a single audit; Hand said the single-audit compliance report was also issued with a clean, unmodified opinion. Hand emphasized that the audit team received full cooperation from city management and that there were no audit adjustments or significant disagreements with management.
Council members asked follow-up questions about line-item detail, including a request for the breakdown of the $6.69 million listed for culture and recreation in the general fund. Hand told the council auditors verify whether expenditures were appropriate and accounted for but that transaction-level details reside with city staff; he offered to help obtain or point council members to the management-level schedules that provide that information.
The council voted unanimously to receive the audit and "spread it across the minutes," a procedural step that records receipt of the report in the official record. The city’s finance staff and audit team were thanked for completing the audit on an accelerated timeline.
The council did not take any additional action on budget changes during the meeting; members asked staff to provide more detailed breakdowns on request.
