City Of Canton issued the following announcement on Mar. 30.
BY THE NUMBERS: We're pleased to report the City of Canton has received a "clean" audit for 2021. Hawkins Ash CPAs has completed its review of the City's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021. In its report to the city council, Hawkins Ash writes: "In connection with our audit, nothing came to our attention that caused us to believe that the City failed to comply with the provisions of the Minnesota Legal Compliance Audit Guide for Cities." The city council will discuss the audit findings at the April 13 meeting. Here are a few take-aways from the 2021 audit and how these findings compare to past years' reports, as illustrated in the accompanying charts.
* CHART 1 shows how General Fund dollars (your tax dollars) were distributed in 2021. Last year's General Fund disbursements totaled $258,850, which exceeded the council-approved budget by $905. If you take out the nearly $9,500 we received from the Arlin Falck Foundation, for the town hall doors replacement project, the disbursement total is reduced to $249,411. The audit report includes all unbudgeted disbursements.
* CHART 2 looks at General Fund disbursements for the past three years. On paper, the 2019-2021 budget variance totals $36,902, which represents a combined three year spending overage of 4.8%. Factor in the grant-related disbursements (which account for unexpected revenues also generated for the calendar year) and the 2019-2021 General Fund budget v. actual spending variation is reduced to $337.
* CHART 3 compares General Fund disbursements, based on audited year end financial statements, going back to 2012. The combined 2012-2018 budget v. actual spending variance totals $463,567. In other words, during those seven years, non-budgeted expenses totaled close to half a million dollars. The chart also shows that General Fund disbursements have decreased over the past ten years.
* CHART 4 specifically looks at employee wages. The 2021 audit shows employee wages accounted for approximately one-third of all General Fund spending last year. In 2015, employee wages were $100,000 higher, accounting for two-thirds of all General Fund spending. That’s a 53% reduction over seven years. Keep in mind, back in 2015, the City had three employees; the 2021 findings reflect General Fund wages paid to the four current employees.
We’re sharing this information, as part of our ongoing commitment, to be as transparent as possible when it comes to the spending of your tax dollars. The full 2021 audit report will be posted on cantonmn.com after it is discussed on April 13.
Original source can be found here.
Source: City Of Canton
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