City's 2013 CAFR

Armstrong Backus' Mike Bodiford presented the 2013 audit report to City Council on Tuesday.  The city earned an unqualified, unmodified or clean opinion.  He highlighted a few numbers:

Government wide net assets of $226 million
Positive net change of $13 million in assets over the year
Individual fund statements showed:
  General fund balance of $21 million - nearly all of it unassigned
  General fund rose by $6.6 million over the year
  Water fund net position of  $97 million
  Water fund rose by $7.7 million during the year

Those are some of Bodiford's highlights.  He pointed out the last footnote on page 71.  It states an accounting change for pensions will go into place in 2015.  They don't know the exact number but it will be a $60-70 million increased liability. 

The city had $4.6 million in federal funds in 2013.  For the first time in years the city did not have a deficiency in their handling of federal funds.  The audit does not mention federal Early Retiree Reinsurance Program monies which the city finally used in 2013 after sitting on the funds for years.

Employee Retiree Health Insurance showed a disturbing decrease in cash position, starting the year at $1.7 million and ending at $410,000.  This fund grew over the last four years.  That pattern shifted with the city using over 75% of the fund balance in 2013.

Pensions and health insurance should figure heavily in Council's upcoming strategic planning session.  The CAFR demands attention in these areas.