City audit returns unmodified opinion; one bookkeeping finding noted

An external presenter told the City Council that the city's 2025 financial statements received an unmodified audit opinion.

The presenter (identified in the transcript as the meeting's presenter) said, "We issued unmodified report, which is a a good report, the highest level of reporting that you can have." He added that auditors do not design routine municipal audits to detect fraud, and said, "we didn't detect any fraud, theft, etcetera, anywhere in our engagement for the city." The presenter also noted a single finding involving reconciliation of depreciation schedules to the financial statements and described that finding as clerical in nature.

The discussion clarified that a nationwide accounting standard change—identified in the meeting as GASB 101—required restatements for some accruals, including sick-leave accruals, and that the restatement does not involve cash moving out of city accounts. When committee member Scott asked whether the standards change explained the shifts in reported numbers, the presenter confirmed the restatement was required by the standard and that the adjustments were presentation and liability-recognition changes rather than cash transactions.

The auditor offered to answer follow-up questions outside the meeting and said staff could contact him for additional details. Councilors were given the opportunity to ask technical questions, and staff signaled they would return with any additional clarifying schedules if needed.