Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Auditor delivers clean opinion on West Goshen's 2025 financial statements; fund balances and pensions discussed
Summary
An external auditor gave West Goshen Township an unmodified opinion for fiscal 2025, reported a general fund balance of about $25.1 million and noted pension plan merges and overfunding in police and non-uniform plans. The auditor said ARPA funds were fully spent in the year.
An independent audit of West Goshen Township's 2025 finances delivered an unmodified (clean) opinion and highlighted the township's strong fund balances and pension positions, the board heard July 21.
Steven, a partner at the audit firm, told the board the general fund ended 2025 with approximately $25.1 million, about 20.6% of which was unassigned/unrestricted; the capital reserve fund ended the year near $9.3 million. The auditor said the general fund recorded a net decrease of 1.7% that year but that number included a roughly $5.6 million transfer to capital projects; excluding that transfer, the general fund posted an increase of about $3.6 million.
The auditor described a change made in October 2025 when the township merged a locally administered pension plan into the nonuniform plan, and he said the police pension plan was overfunded (net pension asset of about $2.3 million) while the nonuniform pension plan showed a net pension asset of about $867,000. Steven reported the actuarial liability for retiree health and related liabilities at about $6.4 million and noted the township has $4.5 million set aside in its general fund for that exposure, but those funds are not in a formal trust and therefore do not reduce the reported liability.
On internal controls, the auditor said the firm found no matters requiring a reportable finding and received full cooperation from township staff. He also noted that ARPA grant funding held by the township was fully spent during the year (about $662,000) and reviewed audit procedures such as revenue testing and third-party confirmations.
Board members asked about the practical benefits of moving reserve funds into a trust to protect future pension assets; the auditor said a trust would protect assets against repurposing but acknowledged actuarial liabilities can vary by methodology and assumptions.
The presentation concluded with a reminder that government auditing firms remain regional in this market and that the township might consider procurement timing for future engagements.
