FORNEY, Texas – The Forney City Council was presented an unqualified “clean” audit report for the City of Forney's fiscal year ending on September 30, 2013, on Tuesday night, March 18, 2014, during their second monthly council meeting. An unqualified opinion is the best opinion an auditor can issue.
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The audit report was prepared by Conway Company CPAs and presented by Michael Conway who began the presentation by making mention of a recent Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting presented to the City of Forney by the Government Finance Officers Association which, notably, has been presented over the past several years.
Of approximately 30 municipalities Conway Company CPAs represents, Conway says only about five of them have received and maintained the recognition. “It's difficult to get and hard to maintain,” said Conway speaking of the achievement. “Its a great thing for your finance area to have done this.”
The City of Forney's governmental funds reported combined fund balances of $17,502,975 which is approximately 23 percent lower than in 2012 due to expenditures in capital projects for roadways and a $2 million settlement with Pate Transportation last March. The settlement paid approximately $1.2 million for construction work already completed in the Farm-to-Market (FM) 548 corridor and an additional $800,000 for other expenses incurred by Pate Transportation during the course of their construction work. $1.2 million was paid for with bond monies previously set aside for the construction work.
The City of Forney's total bonded debt also decreased by $3,532,325, or 4 percent. The City of Forney's total net position also increased by $69,817 due to an increase in charges for services in the utility fund. The unassigned fund balance for the city's general fund of $2,961,848 was 27 percent of total general fund expenditures for the fiscal year.
“The city is in a strong financial position. You've got more than adequate cash and a huge TxDOT receivable so it indicates a lot of activity with the Texas Department of Transportation,” Conway continued. “The city has undergone such rapid growth in the past few years that the council has had major challenges in making decisions to keep up with that growth and it appears to us, as your auditor, that you've done well with that. You've certainly maintained a strong financial position in doing so.”
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Parker asked Conway, given his experience with the City of Forney and other surrounding municipalities, “do you see any unfavorable trends developing in our financials that this council should need to be aware of?”
Conway responded to Parker by stating, “They're not unfavorable trends, I refer to them as challenges.”
“We are in a huge growth area and I think the challenges will be to keep up with that growth and to make sure that your infrastructure is in place,” said Conway. “I don't see anything unfavorable financially … but I do see challenges ahead. I think there are areas that are going to rivet this council's attention and beating the growth pains here.”
All council members voted unanimously to accept the audit as presented.
Council member Scott Regan later stated, “I'll take this opportunity to thank staff for the good job that you guys do. It's stellar, day in and day out, and seeing the award in black and white like this really puts it in perspective and I for one, along with everybody else here on this council, thank you for what you do.”
Parker added, “It has been my view for many years now that this council and this staff have been good stewards of the taxpayers' money. So you can imagine the gratification I felt this evening when our outside auditor Conway specifically stated the City of Forney is in a strong financial position.”
“I think that speaks volumes to the condition for our city,” said Parker.
Of approximately 30 municipalities Conway Company CPAs represents, Conway says only about five of them have received and maintained the recognition. “It's difficult to get and hard to maintain,” said Conway speaking of the achievement. “Its a great thing for your finance area to have done this.”
The City of Forney's governmental funds reported combined fund balances of $17,502,975 which is approximately 23 percent lower than in 2012 due to expenditures in capital projects for roadways and a $2 million settlement with Pate Transportation last March. The settlement paid approximately $1.2 million for construction work already completed in the Farm-to-Market (FM) 548 corridor and an additional $800,000 for other expenses incurred by Pate Transportation during the course of their construction work. $1.2 million was paid for with bond monies previously set aside for the construction work.
The City of Forney's total bonded debt also decreased by $3,532,325, or 4 percent. The City of Forney's total net position also increased by $69,817 due to an increase in charges for services in the utility fund. The unassigned fund balance for the city's general fund of $2,961,848 was 27 percent of total general fund expenditures for the fiscal year.
“The city is in a strong financial position. You've got more than adequate cash and a huge TxDOT receivable so it indicates a lot of activity with the Texas Department of Transportation,” Conway continued. “The city has undergone such rapid growth in the past few years that the council has had major challenges in making decisions to keep up with that growth and it appears to us, as your auditor, that you've done well with that. You've certainly maintained a strong financial position in doing so.”
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Parker asked Conway, given his experience with the City of Forney and other surrounding municipalities, “do you see any unfavorable trends developing in our financials that this council should need to be aware of?”
Conway responded to Parker by stating, “They're not unfavorable trends, I refer to them as challenges.”
“We are in a huge growth area and I think the challenges will be to keep up with that growth and to make sure that your infrastructure is in place,” said Conway. “I don't see anything unfavorable financially … but I do see challenges ahead. I think there are areas that are going to rivet this council's attention and beating the growth pains here.”
All council members voted unanimously to accept the audit as presented.
Council member Scott Regan later stated, “I'll take this opportunity to thank staff for the good job that you guys do. It's stellar, day in and day out, and seeing the award in black and white like this really puts it in perspective and I for one, along with everybody else here on this council, thank you for what you do.”
Parker added, “It has been my view for many years now that this council and this staff have been good stewards of the taxpayers' money. So you can imagine the gratification I felt this evening when our outside auditor Conway specifically stated the City of Forney is in a strong financial position.”
“I think that speaks volumes to the condition for our city,” said Parker.