Auditor gives Mount Pleasant a clean 2025 opinion; general fund posts $1.9M gain

Wendy Younger, principal at Baker Tilly and the lead on the village's audit, told the Mount Pleasant Village Board that the firm issued a clean, unmodified opinion on the village's 2025 financial statements and delivered a high level of assurance.

Younger said the general fund reported $33.0 million in actual revenue versus a $30.6 million budget, producing a positive variance of about $2.5 million and adding almost $1.9 million to fund balance. "Included within your audited statements is a clean unmodified opinion," she said, explaining that an unmodified opinion indicates the information is believed to be materially accurate.

The auditor highlighted key revenue drivers: licenses and permits were about $750,000 over budget (attributed to activity in TID 5 and 7), public charges for services were roughly $958,000 over budget (including about $600,000 in ambulance revenue), fire protection fees were about $400,000 over budget, and investment income exceeded budget by roughly $415,000. On expenditures, the village spent about $31.2 million versus a $32.1 million budget, leaving a favorable variance of about $894,000.

Younger said the village ended the year with $14.8 million in general-fund balance; $1.36 million of that was earmarked to balance the 2026 budget, $340,000 was nonspendable, and the remaining $13.1 million was unassigned working capital (about 41% of the operating budget). "That affords you some flexibility when unexpected events occur," she said.

On other funds, the debt-service fund reported about $5.5 million of revenue and $5.3 million of principal and interest paid, ending the year at about $3.79 million; those resources are restricted to debt payments. TID 5 activity showed roughly $34.6 million of revenue (about half increment receipts and a substantial portion tied to developer-related receipts) and $36 million of expenditures, with TID 5 ending the year with restricted balances. The sewer utility posted nearly $9 million of additions to net position in 2025 (driven by higher customer charges, lower treatment costs and $6.6 million in capital contributions tied to TID work) and held about $32 million of cash at year-end, roughly $2 million of which was restricted.

Younger also discussed the audit's reporting and insights document and flagged two material weaknesses disclosed in the footnotes: limited segregation of duties in payroll processing and the practice of auditors preparing material journal entries, which reduces certain internal-control safeguards. She characterized both issues as common in organizations the size of the village and said management should weigh the cost-benefit of remediation. Younger warned that a new governmental accounting standard effective in 2026 will require expanded narrative disclosures and additional budgetary variance footnotes; she said Baker Tilly will work with village staff to implement the change.

Board members thanked the auditor and asked follow-up questions about debt ratios and credit ratings related to TID 5. Younger said the village has generally improved its position and that TID 5 is in a "decent position," noting the village has met its obligations and ratings have moved back in the right direction. No formal action was taken; the board accepted the presentation and moved on to other business.