Auditors tell Belleair Beach committee city is in sound financial condition; reimbursements for Gulf Boulevard project delayed

Pete Schatzel, the lead auditor presenting the city's draft annual comprehensive financial report on May 24, said Belleair Beach —continues to remain in sound financial condition,— and that the auditors found the city's accounting records —accurate and complete.—

The audit presentation, given to the Belleair Beach Audit Committee, laid out key figures from the draft report: general fund cash and liquid investments totaled $5,261,000 at Sept. 30, 2025; total general fund revenues were $4.6 million against $3.4 million in expenditures, producing an excess of $1,227,000. From that surplus the general fund transferred $1,245,000 to the stormwater fund to support capital work, the auditor said.

The auditors told committee members they reviewed large cash disbursements and sampled payroll and other transactions and did not identify unsupportable payments. —We did not note any instances of noncompliance that would need to be reported,— Schatzel said, and recommended the report as —fairly presented— under generally accepted accounting principles for a governmental entity.

While the city's finances were characterized as sound, Schatzel and staff flagged timing and one-off items that produced swings between fiscal years. A major driver was the Gulf Boulevard undergrounding project: reimbursements from Pinellas County that boosted capital project revenues in fiscal 2024 were largely absent in fiscal 2025, producing a large year-over-year drop in capital-project receipts. The auditor said roughly $930,000 remained to be collected from Pinellas County and described the shortfall as a timing issue rather than a permanent loss.

The audit also detailed hurricane-related cleanup costs and reimbursements: the budget included $1 million in FEMA reimbursement, of which the city had received about $956,000 plus a small state FEMA payment. Schatzel said most storm-related expenses flowed through the general fund and that reimbursements largely made the city whole.

Enterprise funds showed mixed results. The marina operations ran a small deficit of $4,613, though slip-rental revenue rose to $88,548. The stormwater fund showed a reported deficit of $244,332 driven largely by noncash depreciation (about $241,000), and the auditor noted that cash balances in business-type activities declined over the year.

Committee members and staff discussed outstanding debt and commitments. The capital projects fund carried debt service tied to earlier undergrounding loans and other notes; combined balances and scheduled principal/interest were summarized in the report. The auditors identified outstanding contract commitments including an undergrounding contract balance the report listed at about $1,069,000 and an outstanding street-and-drainage contract balance of roughly $376,000.

Members pressed staff about a roughly $63,000 increase in the city's law-enforcement contract with the Pinellas County Sheriff. City Manager Kyle Riefler said the sheriff had told him the increase was countywide and driven by overhead, insurance and other costs; committee members said the increase was discussed with council and felt to be justified.

The audit included a small restatement of fiscal 2024 financials—about $18,000—tied to a new accounting pronouncement. Schatzel described the amount as immaterial and said the disclosure was included for transparency and for the city's Government Finance Officers Association submission.

Before adjourning the committee moved, seconded and approved the administrative minutes and then adjourned. The auditors and staff said they anticipated finalizing the report after addressing any committee comments and outstanding footnote items (including the remaining reimbursement documentation for the undergrounding project).