Wyoming auditors give city 'clean' 2025 opinion; council probes $562,000 transfer to capital reserves

The Wyoming City Council approved the city's 2025 audit after auditors issued an unmodified opinion and reported no legal compliance findings, but members pressed staff to explain a large transfer that moved $561,994 from the general fund to capital reserves.

Auditor Aaron Dah of Bergen KDV told the council the firm 'issued an unmodified opinion' for the year ending Dec. 31, 2025, which he described as the best opinion an auditor can issue. 'The financial statements do present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the city,' Dah said.

That assurance came with a detailed review of revenues and expenditures: general fund revenue rose roughly $47,000 in 2025 (about 2%), driven by higher taxes and special assessments and stronger license-and-permit activity tied to building. Expenditures increased about $667,000 (15.6%), primarily because of public safety salaries, benefits and retirements, and higher public works and recreation costs.

Council members focused their questions on a transfer out of roughly $561,994 that turned what appeared to be an operating surplus into a net decrease in fund balance. Jesse, an engagement manager with ABDO who joined remotely, said the transfer was the city's regular post-audit movement of excess reserves into capital reserves and included amounts moved after council approval following the 2024 audit.

'We transferred $561,994 from the general fund to the 401 capital fund because we had excess reserves last year,' Jesse said, adding that the transfers are part of the city's process to maintain a targeted fund balance.

Councilors asked for greater specificity about the transfers and any one-time purchases that affected the fund lines. Dah and Jesse agreed to follow up with a breakdown of the transfers, noting some funds were used for capital purchases and for items (including building-related expenditures) that had been authorized previously.

The audit presentation also covered enterprise funds. The water fund showed an operating loss of about $65,000 (operating income of roughly $232,000 when excluding depreciation), and councilors asked staff to confirm whether rate-study projections still put the water fund back in surplus by 2027. Dah and staff committed to return with more detail on rate-study projections and the causes of the water fund results.

After questions, Member Schilling moved and the council approved the 2025 audit presentation; the motion passed with one recorded opposition. Staff said they will provide follow-up detail on the $561,994 transfer and supporting schedules to explain the fund flows and the components that affected year-end balances.

What happens next: staff will deliver a schedule breaking down the transfers and any one-time capital expenses that reduced the general fund balance, and the council will receive that detail in a future staff report.