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Jasper audit shows $648,623 revenue boost; auditors flag firefighter relief reporting and internal-control limitations
Summary
Auditors reported the city’s General Fund revenue nearly doubled in 2024—driven by a Small City Development Grant and large donations—while flagging two standard small-city control findings and a lack of an actuarial GASB 68 report for the volunteer firefighters relief association.
Auditors from Meulebroeck, Taubert & Co. presented the City of Jasper’s 2024 audit on Sept. 9, reporting a General Fund actual revenue of $1,267,472 versus a budgeted $618,849, driven largely by a $380,831 Small City Development Grant and $220,866 in donations. Auditor Matt Taubert said that, excluding those two items, the city still outperformed budget by about $48,000.
Taubert told the council the auditors rendered their opinion on the financial statements but included one qualification: the Jasper Volunteer Firefighters Relief Association has not provided a GASB Statement No. 68 actuarial report—typically prepared by an actuary and costing about $2,500. "As long as we include this paragraph in the report, it saves us that cost," Taubert said, recommending the city continue current practice unless the omission produces negative consequences.
The audit review highlighted departmental variances: large positive variances in Recreation and Miscellaneous tied to revolving housing fund and capital outlay, and lower-than-budgeted street expenditures. The General Fund ended the year with $695,807 in fund balance—about 250% of the minimum the state prefers—leaving the city able to operate for roughly a year without revenue, Taubert noted.
Taubert identified two findings common in small municipalities: 2024-I, lack of segregation of duties (economically infeasible to fully segregate duties in a small staff), and 2024-II, lack of in-house expertise to prepare GAAP financial statements. The management letter recommended the council monitor enterprise fund profitability and consider charging appropriate fees for utility services, and instructed the clerk to post any required adjusting journal entries to cash for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024.
Taubert also recommended the council consider a transfer from the General Fund to address the Fire Department fund deficit (2024 deficit $23,095; overall Special Revenue Fund deficit $56,283) to show a truer representation of operations. Other enterprise funds (water, sewer, garbage) finished with positive year-end balances, and the ambulance fund ended the year with a $255,214 positive balance.
After discussion about professional standards and future audit thresholds, Taubert left the meeting and the council moved to the public hearing portion of the agenda.
What’s next: auditors provided no corrected or uncorrected misstatements and reported no disagreements with management; council accepted the report and staff will follow auditor recommendations regarding adjusting entries and monitoring the Fire Department fund balance.
