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Vernon Center accepts 2024 ‘clean’ audit despite internal control weaknesses
Summary
The Vernon Center City Council accepted the 2024 audit, which carried an unmodified “Clean” opinion but flagged material weaknesses tied to limited staff and segregation of duties; the council voted to accept the auditor’s recommendation to accept the risk.
Auditor Greg Burkhardt presented the City of Vernon Center’s 2024 audit, saying the financial statements received an unmodified “Clean” opinion even as the audit identified material weaknesses in internal control and significant deficiencies related to preparation of financial statements and limited segregation of duties.
Burkhardt told the council those findings stem from the city having a single employee in the city office and recommended the city “accept the risk.” There were no Minnesota statutory legal compliance findings in the audit, he said. The city’s unassigned fund balance stood at 74% of 2024 expenditures.
Councilors voted unanimously to accept the audit findings. Councilor Adam Finney moved to accept the report; Councilor Emily Edwards seconded, and the motion carried.
The audit also reported enterprise fund performance: the water fund showed a five-year average profit of $24,578, and the sewer fund showed a negative balance of $4,015. Burkhardt noted those figures while counseling the council about long-term financial monitoring and internal controls.
Acting-Mayor Lisa Peterson and council members discussed the practicality of the auditor’s recommendation given the city’s staffing constraints but did not direct immediate changes to staffing. The acceptance of the audit concludes the formal review for 2024; no additional statutory compliance actions were reported at the meeting.
