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Kill Devil Hills receives clean audit; staff outlines $35M fund balance and capital projects
Summary
Auditor Emily Mills told commissioners the town received an unmodified (clean) opinion on the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025; staff summarized a general fund total fund balance of about $35 million, capital projects including a Haymon Street beach walkway, and the requirement to file a response with the Local Government Commission on a water/sewer capital-assets benchmark ratio.
The Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners received the town's annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, and a clean audit opinion from DMJPS partner Emily Mills.
Emily Mills said the firm issued an unmodified opinion — commonly called a clean opinion — and did not identify any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. She told the board the town must submit a written response to the Local Government Commission (LGC) within 60 days regarding a benchmark ratio for water and sewer capital assets that is generated from the LGC’s data workbook; that ratio had required a similar response in prior audits.
Finance staff reviewed key figures: an unrestricted general-fund cash balance of about $23 million and restricted cash of about $9 million, for a total general-fund balance near $35 million (about $19 million of that unassigned). Staff reported general-fund revenues of roughly $26.4 million and total expenditures reported near $37.5 million; a large noncash accounting recognition related to a fire-station lease (reported as roughly $10.2 million in 2025) increased reported expenditures for the year but will be paid over 20 years.
Capital highlights included a new Haymon Street beach access walkover with about $69,000 in grant funding and $23,000 from capital reserves (roughly $92,000 total), repairs to walkways on Bay Drive and ongoing work on the Rightsville/Writesville Boulevard street project (about $4.2 million paid as of the end of 2025, with an estimated $160,000 remaining for FY 2026). Staff also described capital reserve fund balances and the breakdown of reserves for beach nourishment, shoreline access and streets.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about revenue and expense trends, the town's fund-balance policy (which requires 35% of next year's expenditures in unassigned fund balance) and whether the finance team tracks overnight-tagged beach equipment as a public-services workload; staff said lifeguards tag overnight equipment and the public-services team coordinates pickup but a daily tally is not maintained.
Mills and staff thanked the finance team for their work; the board recorded acceptance of the audit presentation and authorized staff to file the LGC response.
