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Auditor: Newberry Township posts net position gains for 2025; auditors flag segregation-of-duties weakness
Summary
Auditor Steve Rock of Zelenovski Axel Rod presented Newberry Township's 2025 audit, reporting overall revenue growth and net position increases across governmental and sewer funds while identifying a recurring internal-control finding related to segregation of duties and recommending increased board oversight or additional staffing.
An independent auditor presented Newberry Township's 2025 financial audit and told the board the financial statements "presented fairly in all material respects" on a modified cash basis, while flagging an internal-control weakness tied to segregation of duties.
Steve Rock of Zelenovski Axel Rod summarized the audit: total governmental revenues were about $9.8 million and governmental expenditures about $8.3 million, producing an increase in net position of roughly $1.5 million for governmental activities. The sewer (business-type) operations reported about $3.3 million in revenues and $2.2 million in expenditures, yielding a change in position of about $1.1 million. The auditor reported governmental assets near $1.3 million and governmental net position near $1.1 million; business-type assets were reported at about $11.8 million with business-type net position about $1.8 million.
Key balance-sheet and liability details cited in the presentation included general long-term debt of $4.3 million, sewer long-term debt of $955,000, a police pension net liability of $1.5 million, a non-uniform pension liability of $415,000, and OPEB liabilities for police officers of approximately $2.9 million. Steve Rock also walked the board through the funds-by-fund budget-to-actual schedules and noted total revenues were under budget by about $1.3 million but offset by expenditures being under budget by roughly $900,000.
On internal controls, Rock said the audit found the same item as the prior year: difficulty segregating financial duties in a smaller municipal organization. He recommended continued board involvement in financial oversight and, where possible, additional staffing to strengthen controls. During questions, a board member noted a truncated sentence in the report regarding survivor annuity/death benefits; the auditor acknowledged the truncation and the board asked staff to follow up.
The board accepted the auditor's presentation and asked staff to address the noted report formatting issue; the audit materials and management letter will remain part of the official record.
