Carefree Truth
Issue #793, November 29, 2019
The 2018/19 Fiscal Year (FY)Town of Carefree Audit, Expenditure Limitation Report, and Financial Review were discussed at the October 5th Council meeting. Gary Neiss explained that the goals of an annual audit are to assure that the financial statements are free from misstatements, to verify that good accounting practices and principles are being used, and to confirm compliance with the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirements. This guards against fraud and misuse of funds, and provides an additional level of transparency.
Once again, the Town had a clean audit, is compliant with GASB, and has a very transparent procedure in place. The Council gets the check registry every month so they can see where the public funds are spent. Very few local governments have that type of transparency. Carefree has it to the Nth degree.
Additionally, the Town's Capital Reserves continue to grow, which permits Carefree to further invest in infrastructure such as streets over the next several years, as well as assisting in providing water solutions for residents. The street maintenance program is now in the second cycle, and maintenance on the remaining 60% of the streets will be completed in the next 2-3 years. The Town has been working diligently on the effort to bring the Carefree Service Area that is on Cave Creek Water over into the Carefree Water Company so all Carefree residents have high water quality.
In the FY ending June 30th, 2019 the revenue totaled $7,429,577. The expenditures totaled $6,174,967. The net added to the Capital Reserves was $1,254,610, bringing the Reserves to a total of $10,246,289. Over a 10 year period, while investing $5.5 million into the infrastructure, the Reserves have increased approximately $4.2 million. The Town is making wise investments, and putting money in the bank to improve the quality of life for our residents. It is critical to review the finances annually. Mr. Neiss was pleased to report that Carefree's net position is always very positive and is growing. Jennifer, the Court Administrator, was also present. Mr. Neiss commended her for a very positive audit report on the Court as well.
Town Accountant Jim Keen noted that he has held that position for 17 years. Mr. Keen provided the Council with documents showing the revenues and expenditures for the year, as well as the expenditures for each of the 7 departments. He explained that monies are received in July which belong in June, this year amounting to almost $338,000. They are restated back into June every year. It is not money that can be spent in the current FY. This has been a problem in some cities and towns, in one case, $45 million, and they spent it. Reversing those funds is an important part of the audit. A few other restatements were also made, including the first payment from the Carefree Water Company, which was entered on the wrong line. The Town must provide the annual Expenditure Limitation document to the Auditor General to show they haven't spent more than was budgeted. The audit and the Expenditure Limitation documents are also posted on the Town of Carefree website, and are available for public viewing.
Crimson Singleton from Hinton Burdick, the firm that performs the audit, said that was a great summary. She thanked Mr. Keen and the staff members of the Court and the Town. They got through the audits with great efficiency. Segregation of duties is preferred but she recognizes that it is not practical in small towns with small staffs. Carefree has great checks and balances in place.
Issue #793, November 29, 2019
The 2018/19 Fiscal Year (FY)Town of Carefree Audit, Expenditure Limitation Report, and Financial Review were discussed at the October 5th Council meeting. Gary Neiss explained that the goals of an annual audit are to assure that the financial statements are free from misstatements, to verify that good accounting practices and principles are being used, and to confirm compliance with the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirements. This guards against fraud and misuse of funds, and provides an additional level of transparency.
Once again, the Town had a clean audit, is compliant with GASB, and has a very transparent procedure in place. The Council gets the check registry every month so they can see where the public funds are spent. Very few local governments have that type of transparency. Carefree has it to the Nth degree.
Additionally, the Town's Capital Reserves continue to grow, which permits Carefree to further invest in infrastructure such as streets over the next several years, as well as assisting in providing water solutions for residents. The street maintenance program is now in the second cycle, and maintenance on the remaining 60% of the streets will be completed in the next 2-3 years. The Town has been working diligently on the effort to bring the Carefree Service Area that is on Cave Creek Water over into the Carefree Water Company so all Carefree residents have high water quality.
In the FY ending June 30th, 2019 the revenue totaled $7,429,577. The expenditures totaled $6,174,967. The net added to the Capital Reserves was $1,254,610, bringing the Reserves to a total of $10,246,289. Over a 10 year period, while investing $5.5 million into the infrastructure, the Reserves have increased approximately $4.2 million. The Town is making wise investments, and putting money in the bank to improve the quality of life for our residents. It is critical to review the finances annually. Mr. Neiss was pleased to report that Carefree's net position is always very positive and is growing. Jennifer, the Court Administrator, was also present. Mr. Neiss commended her for a very positive audit report on the Court as well.
Town Accountant Jim Keen noted that he has held that position for 17 years. Mr. Keen provided the Council with documents showing the revenues and expenditures for the year, as well as the expenditures for each of the 7 departments. He explained that monies are received in July which belong in June, this year amounting to almost $338,000. They are restated back into June every year. It is not money that can be spent in the current FY. This has been a problem in some cities and towns, in one case, $45 million, and they spent it. Reversing those funds is an important part of the audit. A few other restatements were also made, including the first payment from the Carefree Water Company, which was entered on the wrong line. The Town must provide the annual Expenditure Limitation document to the Auditor General to show they haven't spent more than was budgeted. The audit and the Expenditure Limitation documents are also posted on the Town of Carefree website, and are available for public viewing.
Crimson Singleton from Hinton Burdick, the firm that performs the audit, said that was a great summary. She thanked Mr. Keen and the staff members of the Court and the Town. They got through the audits with great efficiency. Segregation of duties is preferred but she recognizes that it is not practical in small towns with small staffs. Carefree has great checks and balances in place.
Crimson Singleton
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Mayor Les Peterson commented that approximately 2 years ago,Tom Rawls, the husband of Linda Rawls, said the Town shouldn't take the Reserves so high; they should be spent on things of benefit to the community. Carefree has been doing street maintenance work, pedestrian crosswalks, etc. The objective is to have sufficient funds to get through lean times and to utilize funds wisely to help our citizens and merchants. The Mayor commended the outstanding work in the financial area in yet another year, and thanked the staff.
The audit was unanimously accepted by the Council.
https://vimeo.com/372084269
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Mayor Les Peterson commented that approximately 2 years ago,Tom Rawls, the husband of Linda Rawls, said the Town shouldn't take the Reserves so high; they should be spent on things of benefit to the community. Carefree has been doing street maintenance work, pedestrian crosswalks, etc. The objective is to have sufficient funds to get through lean times and to utilize funds wisely to help our citizens and merchants. The Mayor commended the outstanding work in the financial area in yet another year, and thanked the staff.
The audit was unanimously accepted by the Council.
https://vimeo.com/372084269
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.