On March 29, 2011, the CAFR was submitted to the City of Lake Worth. It was presented to the City Commission and to the public on May 26, 2011. This is an audit of financial statements done by an external auditor of the Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2010. It is required by State law to be concluded within 12 months of the close of each fiscal year.
In the past, audits have been notoriously late but still within the required legal time. As an example, the 2006 audit was reported on September 15 of 2007 and the 2008 Audit was reported on September 28, 2009. Those are the only two in my possession. Commissioner Maxwell complained about the submission time of this audit.
The report was prepared by the Finance Department staff, a staff that is now under the leadership of Steve Carr, a department that is efficient, organized and accurate. Steve has worked in governmental accounting for over 32 years, including the 23 years he worked for Alachua County as Finance Director. He holds a masters degree in accounting as well as a masters in public administration. He briefly retired, moved to Lake Worth where he once again, rolled up his sleeves and was hired by the City of Lake Worth, giving us decades of knowledge and experience. To check the financial accuracy of his department, TCBA Watson Rice LLP was hired, a firm with offices in major hubs all over the country and in existence for 36 years, to audit Lake Worth’s Financial Statement.
All year, City Commissioners have received a monthly financial from our Finance Department. This was a suggestion of Commissioner Scott Maxwell and it was fulfilled by the City Manager. If there were any accounting errors, commissioners had plenty of time to challenge any numbers on the financial statements. They never did until the day that the Audit was presented to the Commission to approve and one commissioner queried it all... Scott Maxwell voted it down.
The City of Lake Worth received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada, an entity established in 1906, for achieving the highest standards in government accounting and financial reporting. Steve Carr received that award for Alachua County for 23 years. Again, Commissioner Maxwell challenged the audit and disagreed.
The conclusion of the outside auditors is that the City of Lake Worth has presented accurate data in all material respects. In fact, in almost every recommendation of the past, the Finance Department has complied with the auditor's requests. TCBA Watson Price has stated that "no similar finding has been noted during the current year." Sloppy or incomplete procedures have been cleaned up and eliminated. There was one thing that stood out that needed improvement. The CRA, once again, did not submit its audited annual financial statements to the bank within the required time. It director is one of the few people in the city who received a raise.
It is time to end this lack of trust displayed over and over again by one commissioner who is the leader of the doom and gloom club. The i's are dotted and the t's are crossed. Let's move on. Learn another word, yes.
8 comments:
To the person who does not believe the sun comes up in the morning--IDIOT-- who has sent communication through another person as he/she wants to remain anonymous,
1) I have NO use for anyone who can't use his own name.
2) I was pointing out a fact regarding receiving an award for Excellence. This commenter stated that "everyone can get one...no big deal." Well, everything is a big deal to this person. They nitpick constantly, trying to find fault in everything that is good in this City. People are tired of this "Say NO" crowd and them constantly dragging the city down to the pits right along where they stay.
3) Find fault in your attitude. There is a lot in which to improve. Staying angry and looking for fault is not an attractive trait. Start looking at the positives. Your shrink would tell you that.
4) Contact me yourself instead of a mutual friend. Otherwise, you have no credibility no matter what you say. You are here to bust balls and take down this city to your level.
WE WILL NOT ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN.
Congrats to Finance Dept.
This award is the first one that we have received in 4 years. It is an achievement. It has to do with achieving the highest standards in financial reporting and accounting. It has nothing to do with the fact that we had a former Finance Director who screwed up on the landfill reporting back in 2006, paying unauthorized engineering expenditures. It was recommended that the City pursue civil and criminal penalties. That report was done by the INTERNAL AUDITOR.
Ann Costello's department received an award for accounting for year 2005. It was presented in January 2006. We have not received an award since that time until now.
Congrats City. We need to celebrate the positive. FYI - the City is in charge of all financials - even the CRA's. If it was late- its because the City didnt get it done in time.
Alex D'Antuono
Thank you, that is true. However what the auditor reported was that the CRA did not get its audited financial to the bank in a timely fashion. That is not the fault of the City. The City's Audit was done within the required time by law.
The Costello situation was covered up. We had a corrupt commission in power at the time. Years ago, we used to get the audit right after the March election. The auditors reported on the following years:
2006--9-15-07
2007--10-7-08 but not given to the public until December.
2008--9-28-09
2009--6-29-10
2010--3-29-11 but not presented to the public until May 26
D.D.
Hey, its Alex. My understanding is all the financials go through the City - as in most cases. If the audited financials did not get to the bank, as you state, its because the City did not get them there. I used to work in Sarasota in OMB or most people would not know it. Thanks Lynn.
According to the Audit that was recently done, it said that the CRA did not get them there on time--not the city. I am only going by what I read in the Audit. I doubt if it is the City's responsibility to do the CRA's job. They do their financials, however which were out on time. Perhaps there is some conflict as to when the Bank wants the year end financials received.
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