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Dickinson council accepts clean audit, hears $2.9M midyear surplus and seizure-funds questions
Summary
Council accepted the annual comprehensive financial report with a clean (unmodified) audit opinion; auditors flagged one finding on street-maintenance sales tax use and council probed an unexpected seized-assets receipt. The city also heard a quarterly report showing a $2.9 million surplus through March 31.
The Dickinson City Council voted to accept the city's annual comprehensive financial report and the auditors' summary for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025, after the city's contracted auditors issued a clean, unmodified opinion.
"We have issued a clean, unmodified audit opinion on the city's financials," auditor Mike Brooks told the council, summarizing his firm's review and its accounting adjustments. Brooks said the audit included six proposed journal entries and "no material weaknesses, no significant deficiencies, and no other audit findings that were required to be reported." The council moved and approved acceptance of the audit by voice vote.
Brooks highlighted key fund changes: the general fund increased by about $115,000, the grants fund decreased by about $2,400,000 (reflecting timing of grant reimbursements), and the city reported a $2,568,000 ending fund balance. He also noted a negative revenue variance of roughly $982,000, driven almost entirely by sales-tax receipts below budget, and a positive expenditure variance of about $683,000.
Council members asked for clarification about an unusually large seized-assets receipt recorded in the audit. "I'd like to know how we got that much money," a council member asked, citing a budget line that had been set near $15,000 but showed $355,000 in receipts. Chief Barzin, asked to respond, said much of the increase represented seizure funds pending in court dockets that were delayed during COVID and have now been released. "A lot of this was seizure funds that were pending in dockets who were held up because of COVID," he explained.
At midyear, finance staff presented the quarter ending March 31, 2026: total revenues of approximately $11.5 million, expenditures of about $8.6 million and a surplus near $2.9 million, with a fund balance of $5,034,399 (about 26% of expenditures). Council complimented staff for tighter expenditure control as sales tax declined. The council approved the quarterly investment report and financials by voice vote.
The audit and quarterly report together set the near-term financial picture for Dickinson: a clean audit opinion and a modest increase in reserves, counterbalanced by sales-tax volatility and the timing of federal and grant reimbursements. Council members said they will continue to monitor revenues and fund-balance targets at future meetings.
