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Sarasota City CRA audit gets clean opinion; agency approves report unanimously
Summary
City financial staff and the CRA's external auditor reported an unmodified opinion and no compliance findings on the CRA's financial statements; commissioners voted unanimously to accept the report after asking for clarifications on carryover project funds and liabilities.
The Sarasota City Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday heard that its financial statements received an unmodified opinion from the external auditors and then voted unanimously to accept the auditors' report.
Kelly Strickland, the city's director of financial administration, introduced the audit presentation and said the CRA material is incorporated into the city's overall audit package. The city's external auditor reported an unmodified opinion and "no findings or no compliance issues" for the CRA financial statements, describing the audit as focused on legal compliance and proper use of tax-increment financing.
The clean opinion means the auditor found the CRA's financial statements reliable and found no compliance exceptions. "We had an unmodified opinion," the auditor said, adding the review confirmed the TIF revenue calculations and that expenditures were in accordance with the CRA plan.
Commissioners asked several follow-ups before the vote. One committee member asked about a line on page 9 listing $771,871 for Main Street streetscape improvements; Strickland said those dollars are a carryover from a former downtown CRA and are earmarked for the Main Street project until spent or formally closed out. Staff explained the top portion of the report shows actual expenditures while lower sections show budgets carried forward, and Strickland offered to follow up on a small numeric discrepancy raised by the commissioner.
The vice mayor asked about $37,372 of liabilities shown on page 17; Strickland said she would look into the detail but noted that accounts payable not settled by the fiscal year-end are typically carried as liabilities. The vice mayor also asked why the CRA shows no employees on page 22; Strickland explained that CRA-related staff remain employees of the general fund and the CRA makes an approximate $30,000 transfer to the general fund to cover services provided by those staff.
After questions, a motion to accept and approve the CRA financial statements and auditors' report was moved and seconded. The motion carried on a unanimous vote. The agency also approved the minutes from the special April 6 CRA meeting earlier in the session.
The CRA meeting was then adjourned and the City Commission reconvened.
