Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hastings council accepts 2025 audit with unmodified opinion, approves comprehensive financial report
Summary
The Hastings City Council heard an auditor's presentation showing a clean (unmodified) opinion on the 2025 financial statements, discussed a small classification adjustment tied to water-treatment funding, and voted to approve the city's annual comprehensive financial report.
The Hastings City Council voted June 15 to accept the city's 2025 annual comprehensive financial report after an auditor told the council the firm was issuing an unmodified opinion on the city's financial statements.
Ryan Engleste, the lead auditor from the firm that performed Hastings' audit, told the council the report reflects a clean opinion and noted only an isolated reporting adjustment related to how funding for the city's water treatment plant was classified between grant revenue and debt liability. "Unmodified opinion that we're providing," Engleste said, summarizing the firm's conclusion.
The auditor reviewed several compliance and reporting areas the firm tests annually, including internal-control observations and federal program testing tied to the city's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending and Public Facilities Authority funding used on the water plant. Engleste said the deeper testing required for major federal programs produced no compliance findings. He also walked council members through trends in the general-fund balance, revenue mix and enterprise-fund results, flagging the hydro fund's 2025 operating loss tied to a dewatering project that added roughly $500,000 in expenses.
Finance Director Chris Idemiller introduced the report and thanked staff for preparing the documents. Council members asked about how long audits take and the auditor explained the firm typically performs planning and interim work early in the year and concentrated on-site testing in April, representing roughly 300 hours for a city this size.
After the presentation and a brief question period the council moved and seconded approval of the comprehensive financial report. The motion carried by voice vote; the city will use the report as the official audited financial statements for 2025 and as the starting point for budget and bond-rating discussions in 2026.
The council did not direct additional immediate action; staff and auditors said they would continue to monitor the hydro fund in 2026 and include the topic in next year's audit planning. The council adjourned to other business following the vote.
