The Financial Audit Advisory Committee reviewed the following financial highlights, the management letter, and special projects (see the report and watch the meeting video):
Zach Fentross “explained that in the statement of net position, the City has liabilities of $1.2 billion, which are primarily made up of long-term liabilities. He noted the City’s bond payables came in at $368 million, its net Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability was largely unchanged from the prior year and came in at $461 million, and its net pension liability came in at $264 million with a $32 million decrease from the prior year primarily due to 2024 investment income from the contributory retirement system.”
“Total expenses were $529 million, with $353 million (67%) coming from education costs. Total revenues and transfers were $657 million. They were made up of program revenues at $160 million and general revenues and transfers at $497 million, $439 million of which came from real estate taxes.”
He discussed the City’s long-term debt. He noted that its total outstanding debt is $409 million. He highlighted that new debt stands at $86 million, $85 million of which was issued for the City’s governmental fund, and $1 million for its stormwater fund.
He detailed that the largest governmental fund projects driving the new debt had been the Cooper Center construction at $15 million, Lincoln-Eliot Elementary renovations at $37 million, and Countryside Elementary School construction at $20 million.
He noted that the City’s OPEB liability stands at $473 million as of June 30, 2025. He explained there was a slight increase from the prior year’s $466 million, but the number remains largely unchanged. He added that the City’s pension liability stands at $276 million which is a decrease from last year’s liability of $308 million, primarily due to investment performance.”
The management letter repeated the prior year’s comment that police detail billing is not integrated with the city’s general ledger and recommended that it be integrated. The Police Dept plan to integrate it by the summer of 2026.
The letter also recommended the city review information technology (IT) access rights annually and develop an IT disaster recovery plan. The city stated that “IT recently developed and adopted a formal incident response policy which complements its disaster recovery efforts.”
Special Projects
Fentross noted that the Aquatics Managers are performing the daily cashouts properly but not documenting their work.
New Governmental Accounting Standards Board standards will apply to the City’s June 2026 audit.
The Committee took No Action Necessary on all items, as discussions were advisory in nature.
Present: Councilor Malakie (Chair), Councilor Oliver, Citizen Representative Carl Valente, Citizen Representative Alex Jablon, and Citizen Representative Patrick Song, Jim Piotrowski from CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), Zach Fentross from CLA
Absent: Councilors Micley and Lipof, School Committee Representative Rajeev Parlikar, Citizen Representative JP Nahmias
City Staff: Comptroller Stephen Curley, Deputy Comptroller Stela Zaloshnja
