Eddie Burke, a CPA with the accounting firm of Cherry Burkaert, told the Wake Forest Town Board Tuesday night that there had been no requests to change procedures or correct problems in the financial report for fiscal 2014-2015.
“The numbers you are receiving throughout the year are reliable numbers,” he said. He also praised Financial Operations Manager Antwan Morrison, who worked with the Cherry Burkaert for the audit and produced the “Comprehensive Annual Financial Report” using the town’s financial software. Burke said Morrison deserved a pat on the back for writing the report. “It’s a credit to the finance department.”
He reported a number of ways the auditors checked the town’s figures for problem areas, and agreed that with Commissioner Zachary Donahue that it may be time to hire a person who can act as an internal auditor and assess risks the department faces.
At the close of the books on June 30, the town had $23,681,051 in cash compared to $19,613,063 at the same time in 2014.
Tax collections exceeded the budgeted expectations because the town collected 99.8 percent of the property tax. The assessed valuation of land and property in town, its tax base, was $4.3 billion on June 30, 2015, up from $4.1 billion the year before. The tax collections were $22.2 million, an increase of $1.1 million over the prior year.
The town continues to hold its total fund balance (savings account) at over 35 percent of its general fund expenditures, and is currently 36.4 percent. Burke noted that there will be a policy recommendation in January about that fund balance policy.
In the general fund, the total revenues and other financing sources was $1,327,000 over expenditures in 2014-2015.
The town’s total debt is $32.9 million, which is 1.1513 percent of the total tax base. Although state law provides towns and cities can have higher debt percentages, Finance Director Aileen Staples said the town’s policy is to keep debt below 2 percent. “You’re in good shape as far as debt,” Burke said.
