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Cairo council approves FY24–25 budget amendments and orders plan to repay $1.8 million shifted from landfill account
Summary
City council approved $730,145 in FY24–25 general fund budget amendments and instructed staff to develop a repayment plan after auditors flagged roughly $1.8 million that had been recorded as a due-to/due-from transfer from the landfill fund to utilities.
The Cairo City Council on Monday approved fiscal year 2024–25 general fund budget amendments totaling $730,145 and directed staff to produce a formal repayment plan after auditors identified roughly $1.8 million moved from a landfill restricted fund into city utilities accounts without documented council approval.
City finance staff alerted the council that "we identified that $1,800,000 were sitting in a due to due from account where it's showing that utilities owe this money for the landfill," and said the amount has been carried on the city's financial statements since 2023. The staff member who presented the audit findings said the entries appear on government-wide statements but were not visible on the fund-level reports council normally reviews.
Council members pressed staff on options. One councilmember said, "That money's got to get back in the landfill fund," emphasizing the landfill's post-closure liability and the restricted nature of the original receipts. Staff described two paths: restate prior financials with a prior-period adjustment or record the amount as an interfund receivable and establish a multiyear repayment plan to restore the landfill fund.
After extended questioning about auditors' confirmations, the timing of reimbursements for programs such as Family Connections, and internal controls for interfund transfers, the council voted to approve the budget amendments and asked staff to return with a detailed repayment plan or alternative corrective action before audited financials are finalized. The motion approving the amendments and the direction to pursue a repayment plan passed on a voice vote.
The council and staff also discussed steps to strengthen controls and transparency for future interfund transactions, including documenting approvals in the accounting system and requiring mayoral signature for certain withdrawals. Staff said those procedural improvements would be applied immediately as part of efforts to ensure fund balances are recorded and traceable.
Next steps: finance staff will prepare a written repayment proposal or a recommendation on prior-period restatement for council review at a follow-up meeting so auditors can finalize reports.
