Auditors deliver clean FY2025 opinion; council accepts annual financial report

Chris Pruitt, an audit partner at Fotilla Brown and Hill LLP, told the City Council the firm issued an "unmodified opinion," also known as a clean opinion, on Stafford's FY2025 financial statements and that the audit found no material misstatements or internal-control deficiencies requiring corrective action. "You receive what we call an unmodified opinion. It's also referred to as a clean opinion," Pruitt said during his presentation.

Pruitt summarized key figures in the audit packet: an unassigned general-fund balance of about $16,200,000 and verified sales tax revenue of approximately $20,100,000, which the firm confirmed with state allocations. He also said the city added about $1.5 million across funds during the year and ended FY2025 about $2.25 million better than budgeted, driven by higher-than-expected revenues and lower-than-anticipated expenditures.

Council members asked clarifying questions about items in the management discussion and analysis, including references to economic factors and next-year budgeting. Pruitt explained the required nine elements of the MD&A and pointed to the bottom of page 9 for a standard discussion of near-term economic factors. After brief discussion and a motion to accept the reports, the council approved the Annual Financial Report, the single-audit, and the required communications with governance.

What's next: Council members were invited to contact the auditors with follow-up questions and staff noted that the city's finance team will incorporate the auditor comments into the next fiscal planning cycle.