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Hubbs and Whitehead CPA reports clean federal audit of Cotter’s 2024 USDA sewer and ARPA spending
Summary
A CPA told the Cotter City Council on May 22 that the city’s first federal single-audit covering 2024 USDA sewer project and ARPA funds found no reportable findings; a follow-up audit will cover later project phases.
Justin Anthony, a CPA with Hubbs and Whitehead, told the Cotter City Council on May 22 that the city’s single federal audit covering 2024 expenditures for USDA sewer project funds and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money was clean and showed no findings. He said the audit was treated as high risk because it was the city’s first federal audit and that a second audit will cover the next portions of the sewer project.
Anthony commended city financial staff for timely recordkeeping, singling out Stefanie and Vanessa for providing prompt financial information. The council received April and May financial reports as part of the meeting packet; the council accepted the March 27, 2025 meeting minutes with noted corrections earlier in the session.
Mayor MacGeorge Caradine also updated the council on infrastructure progress tied to those funds: the Booster Pump Project and the Phase II Sewer Rehabilitation Project are complete; new Lift Stations No. 1 and No. 2 on Denton Ferry Road are in operation. Phase II B of the sewer rehabilitation, covering Ryan Road and Rainbow Heights, is pending USDA approval and has a planned start date in July 2025.
The council was told the city’s 2024 financial statements were posted at City Hall and at the Cotter Post Office beginning March 28, 2025 for the required 30-day period.
Next steps: auditors will perform the second federal audit for subsequent portions of the sewer project; no formal action was required from the council at this meeting on the audit report.
