West Columbia auditor reports clean FY2025 financial statements, $4.3M positive fund change

Bill Hancock presented the City of West Columbia's annual comprehensive financial report for the year ending June 30, 2025, telling council "we feel like these financial statements are materially correct and the users can rely on them for accurate information." He said the audit found no material misstatements and no findings in either the financial statements or the single-audit work.

Hancock walked council through highlights: the general fund finished the year with about a $4.3 million positive change in fund balance, after including a roughly $4.8 million transfer in from another fund to balance the budget. He explained the city's single-audit exposure is shrinking as federal coronavirus-related awards wind down, noting the city reported approximately $550,000 in typical federal awards and another roughly $5.7 million tied to coronavirus programs this year; if pandemic-related funds fall away, the city may avoid a single audit in the next cycle.

On the enterprise side, Hancock said the water and sewer operating revenues were almost $25 million with operating income near $6.1 million and a change in net position of about $8.7 million after accounting for nonoperating grant proceeds used for infrastructure. He emphasized accumulating reserves: "The more you accumulate in your reserves today and year after year, the less you're going to have to borrow tomorrow."

Council members thanked Hancock and noted the scale of city operations, with one member framing spending "about a million bucks a week" to give perspective on routine costs. Hancock closed by reiterating that the engagement found no matters requiring corrective action and by offering to answer further questions or review specific schedules from the bound report.

The council did not take immediate action on the presentation; the document was presented for review and questions.