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City of Clinton receives unmodified audit; finance director reports budget season typical shortfall
Summary
Auditor Gary Bailey told council the city's fiscal audit earned an unmodified (clean) opinion with no findings and the single audit for FEMA funds had no issues. Finance Director Stevens reported year-to-date revenue at 33.58% of budget (typical for this time of year) and a positive general fund balance of about $1 million through November.
Auditor Gary Bailey of Love Bailey presented the City of Clinton’s fiscal year audit on Jan. 5, reporting an unmodified, or "clean," opinion and saying he found no material weaknesses or findings in the city’s accounting procedures.
"A really good job was done," Bailey told councilors, congratulating Finance Director Stevens and the finance team for providing required backup and supporting documents. He said the single audit required for FEMA funds also showed no findings.
Finance Director Stevens briefed council on the city’s current budget status, saying year-to-date revenue through November was at 33.58% of the budget against an expected rough benchmark of 42.42% for the period — a variance he described as "very typical" at this point in the fiscal year. Stevens said expenses as a percentage of budget are about 1 percentage point higher than revenue and that the utility fund is roughly net zero in operations. He reported a positive general fund balance of about $1 million through the end of November.
Mayor Randall and council members praised staff for the improvement in financial controls and the clean audit. Bailey said a copy of the audit report is available at city hall (211 N. Broad St., Clinton). Councilmember Williams asked whether any corrections were needed; Bailey said there were none.
Context: The unmodified audit indicates the auditor found no material deficiencies in financial reporting for the period covered. The budget-status figures reflect timing of revenue receipts (e.g., property taxes arriving later in the fiscal year) and will be discussed further at a Strategic Plan work session announced for Jan. 8.
