Kingsport Returns $1.1M to General Fund with Clean Audit
KINGSPORT – Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman returned $1.1 million to the General Fund, which represents an increase of approximately 9.5% over FY14 ending balance.
In addition, the City received a clean and unmodified opinion on the Fiscal Year 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report or CAFR, the highest opinion a CPA firm can issue. A CAFR is a detailed review of city government including schools from a financial perspective. It covers thirty-six separate funds and all manner of financial issues from debt to assets.
The FY2015 audit, which Audit Committee chair and Vice Mayor Mike McIntire called, exceptional in that this was the 17th year with a clean report for the City.
Only one deficiency was noted in the audit, down from two last year. It is a material weakness noting the city was not closing capital projects fast enough after completion.
McIntire stated, The BMA has already taken action to improve our performance in this area by hiring a project manager to help oversee our many capital projects. We also anticipate having a timeframe for closing projects after substantial completion.
CAFR includes a copy of the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded for the FY2014 CAFR. This is the fifteen-straight year that our staff has received this award from the Government Finance Officers Association, and makes the city one of only a select few government organizations to receive this prestigious award.
Our staff deserves a tremendous amount of praise, because they are doing an excellent job managing their departments and projects to ensure our City stays in a strong financial position, said City Manager Jeff Fleming. A special thank you to Jim Demming, Judy Smith, Lisa Winkle and Sid Cox for their diligence.