Port Royal auditor gives town a clean opinion as revenues and fund balances rise

Lisa Wexler, of Crowley Wexler Associates, presented the town—ouncil with the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, saying auditors issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements.

Wexler told the council the town reported $24,215,000 in total assets and net position of about $9,462,000, after accounting for capital assets and long-term liabilities. She said capital additions during the year totaled roughly $2.76 million and depreciation was about $800,000.

"We applied our audit procedures to the information supplied by management, and we found those statements to be fairly stated," Wexler said (S5).

Wexler said the town—ollected more revenue than budgeted—about $10.0 million actual versus $8.0 million budgeted—driven in part by business-license increases and higher interest income in the LGIP. She highlighted that property-tax receipts rose as assessed value grew, describing the change as about 25% growth in assessed value compared with the prior year.

Council members pressed for clarifications about collections and the online business-license portal; Wexler confirmed the town now accepts licenses through the state portal and has local online availability as well (S9). She also explained that the town—arries a sizable net pension liability on its books and that long-term obligations, including a lease taken during the year (~$335,000), affect the net position calculation.

Wexler pointed the council to fund-balance details: the general fund balance was roughly $504,000, capital projects $602,000 and other governmental funds $1.705 million. Restricted assets totaled about $2.307 million and the unrestricted portion of the net position was noted at approximately $529,000.

On federal assistance reporting, Wexler said the town received more than $750,000 and that ARPA spending is included on the schedule of federal expenditures; she reported no findings of noncompliance that required reporting and no prior audit findings.

Mayor (presiding) praised staff for the results and urged continued attention to ARPA reporting and upcoming changes in financial reporting standards. Wexler noted GASB changes on the horizon that could affect future presentations.

The audit presentation concluded with a round of council questions and clarifications; Wexler said the town—urrently does not have audit findings and expects the low-risk auditee designation may change after additional years of uniform guidance audits.

The council did not take any action on the audit beyond receiving the report.

The town—ouncil will hear further budget and planning details in upcoming meetings; staff and council members said they will circulate the audited report to the public and encourage review of the full statements.