PALMVIEW, Texas – The City of Palmview recently underwent a comprehensive audit of its financial statements, conducted by Adrian Webb, CPA. The audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, ensuring a thorough and reliable review of the city’s financial health and reporting practices.
It involved several key components of the City of Palmview’s financial statements, including:
- Governmental Activities: These are activities mainly funded through taxes and intergovernmental revenues, such as public safety, road maintenance, and general administration.
- Aggregate Discretely Presented Component Unit: This pertains to legally separate organizations for which the city is financially accountable.
- Each Major Fund: Focus was placed on significant funds that are crucial to the city’s financial operations, including general, capital projects, and special revenue funds.
- Aggregate Remaining Fund Information: This includes other non-major funds that, while smaller, are still essential to the overall financial picture.
The audit covered the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2024, and included a review of the financial statements. These statements provide crucial context and detail, offering insights into the city’s accounting practices and financial decisions.
The audit report concluded that there were no material weaknesses in the City’s financial statements. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting. The absence of such weaknesses indicates a strong and effective financial management and reporting system within the city.
The report also included the following financial highlights:
- The assets plus the deferred outflows of resources of the City of Palmview exceeded its liabilities plus the deferred inflows of resources as of September 30, 2024, by $13,837,468 (net position). Of this amount, $7,131,267 (unrestricted net position) may be used to meet the City’s ongoing obligations to citizens and creditors in accordance with the City’s fund designation and fiscal policies.
- The City’s total net position increased by $1,019,686 over fiscal year 2023-2024 operations.
- As of the close of the current fiscal year, the City of Palmview’s governmental funds reported combined ending fund balances of $4,161,029.
- As of September 30, 2024, the fund balance for the General Fund was $3,015,699.
It’s critically important for a city to maintain a solid fund balance as part of strong fiscal management. The Government Finance Officers Association recommends keeping an unrestricted reserve equivalent to at least two months or roughly 16.7% of general fund operating revenues or expenditures as a minimum benchmark. This level acts as a financial cushion, helping to smooth out cash-flow gaps, handle unexpected costs, and support long-term budgeting stability. The City of Palmview currently holds a fund balance of 17.75%, slightly above that recommended threshold- indicating that we are maintaining a prudent level of reserves.
The findings from this audit are a positive reflection on the City of Palmview’s fiscal management and its observance to sound financial practices. The lack of material weaknesses suggests that the city’s financial statements present an accurate and reliable picture of its financial position and operations. This outcome helps ensure transparency and accountability to residents, stakeholders, and other interested parties.
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