Auditor gives clean opinion, urges better grant tracking; commission endorses using engineers to help

The airport's auditor reported an unmodified (clean) audit opinion for the year and highlighted internal-control recommendations related to grant accounting and monitoring. "The opinion we've given you this year is once again that unmodified opinion, which is the clean opinion that you're looking for," auditor Ryan told the commission, and he recommended creating formal tracking for grant receivables and distinguishing permanent local funding from temporary lending to avoid growing borrowed balances owed to the city and county.

Ryan suggested more frequent grant submittals (monthly or bimonthly if feasible) and a centralized spreadsheet or process to track what is due under each grant, expected reimbursements and the status of closeouts. Commissioners discussed the new MnDOT BlackCat reporting system's limitations and voiced support for contracting with SEH to help manage BlackCat entries and the closeout workload; SEH said that engineering coordination tasks would likely be eligible grant costs and offered to scope the work and provide cost estimates. The commission passed a motion to pursue SEH assistance and requested a cost estimate and scope for the additional tasks.

The auditor and staff noted some timing and accounting changes beginning in 2022–23 that have made permanent versus temporary funding less distinct in the books; returning to clearer invoicing distinctions would allow the airport to invoice and recognize permanent local funding separately from short-term lending, helping manage the city/county repayment picture. SEH and staff will follow up with quarterly grant-status updates for the commission.