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Auditors give Lyons a clean 2025 opinion but flag late grant reimbursements
Summary
Independent auditors told the Town of Lyons trustees they issued an unmodified opinion on the town's 2025 financial statements and a clean single-audit for federal highway funds, but reported one significant deficiency: late 2025 reimbursement requests that were recorded in 2026, requiring an accounting adjustment and process changes.
The town's independent auditors presented the 2025 audit during the board's July workshop and issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the financial statements, Auditor Kevin Kimball of the Adams Group said. Kimball also reported an unmodified opinion on compliance and control over the town's major federal program (highway planning and construction passed through CDOT).
The presentation highlighted one significant deficiency tied to timing: several reimbursement requests for expenditures incurred in 2025 were not submitted to granting agencies until March and April 2026 and therefore were omitted from the 2025 year-end receivable and deferred inflow accounts. "We recorded an adjustment to increase receivables and those deferred inflows," Kimball said, and recommended an additional year-end control step to verify when costs were incurred and when reimbursement requests were submitted.
Kimball walked trustees through the required closing communication to governance, which lists significant estimates and audit matters. He singled out FEMA receivables, capital-asset useful lives and lease accounting under GASB 87 as material estimates. He told the trustees there were no difficulties performing the audit and no disagreements with management during the process.
Town staff described steps to address the finding. Director Iceland and finance staff said they will consolidate grant-tracking records and create an internal reconciler so staff can better match reimbursement requests, grant workpapers and adjusting entries. "We're creating a spreadsheet that captures Tracy's grant tracking and Carl's work papers so we can reconcile them," Director Iceland said, describing the corrective-action plan the town will implement.
Trustees asked about broader financial health and the town's debt position. Kimball said whether debt appears in the general fund or enterprise funds depends on the purpose of the debt and the pledged revenues; utility-related debt typically resides in enterprise funds, while sales-tax-backed debt may appear in the general fund depending on the town's fund structure.
The board accepted the audit report as part of the evening's consent items. Staff noted audited beginning fund balances will be incorporated into the 2027 budget work and that the audit's findings and the corrective-action plan will be tracked with management.
The town asked the auditors to keep the trustees informed as staff implements the reconciliation steps before the next fiscal close.
