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Council accepts clean 2024 audit; members press for clearer presentation of transfers
Summary
Auditors gave Lindstrom an unmodified (clean) opinion for 2024 but highlighted that the general fund ended the year at about 36% of the following year’s budget (city policy is 40%). Councilors pressed staff for clearer slides showing budgeted vs. actual transfers—particularly transfers from the municipal liquor funds that affected perceived performance.
The Lindstrom City Council voted May 21 to accept the city’s 2024 financial statement audit after an overview from Tyler C., an audit manager at Avvo, who reported an unmodified opinion on the financial statements.
Tyler told the council the audit included Minnesota legal‑compliance testing and found no reportable instances of noncompliance. He said the city’s general fund balance at year‑end 2024 was about 36% of the following year’s budget, short of the city’s 40% policy target established in 2022. “We are issuing what’s referred to as an unmodified opinion of our financial statements,” Tyler said, adding that the fund balance has been close to policy for several years.
Council discussion focused on how the presentation of fund balances can obscure operational realities when internal transfers are budgeted but not actually executed. Several councilors said summary slides showing positive operating metrics did not make clear that the city had not taken planned transfers from enterprise funds—most notably liquor funds—so the slide could mislead a casual reader about underlying cash flows. One councilor urged adding a column or note that shows the hypothetical effect of budgeted transfers versus actual transfers so residents can see how those decisions affect fund balances.
Tyler and staff said the financial statements themselves show the budgeted and actual transfer amounts and that a future presentation could include an additional slide or notation clarifying the effect of transfers. Staff confirmed the municipal on‑sale and off‑sale liquor funds had not transferred budgeted amounts in 2024, which changed the headline figures on certain summary slides but is reflected in the audited statements.
The council accepted the audit by unanimous vote and then moved on to related budget and capital planning items. Members directed staff to work with the auditor to add clarifying notes to public presentation slides so the public can more easily see the difference between budgeted transfers and actual activity.
The audit acceptance is procedural: the unmodified opinion is the standard clean audit outcome; the council’s follow‑up request pertains to public presentation and transparency rather than changes to the audited statements.
