CPA John Trussalo (left) delivers his independent 2015 audit to the Jamestown City Council during it’s Oct. 17 work session, as Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi (right) looks on.
JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown’s 2015 finances have received a clean audit following an independent review.
Local CPA John Trussalo presented his independent audit for the 2015 finances during Monday night’s Jamestown City Council work session.
Trussalo said that his audit was an unmodified opinion, meaning it’s the cleanest audit that can be provided. His findings showed that the city was able to keep spending in 2015 relatively balanced with revenue, with the budget containing a $94,000 unfavorable net variance, compared to what had been projected to start that fiscal year.
The audit also showed that while the city’s constitutional taxing limit was approaching 100 percent in 2015, the city was only at about 35 percent of its constitutional borrowing limit.
Trussalo also commented on the New York State Comptroller’s Office recent audit, particularly with the recommendation the city should discontinue its use of a dedicated and separately tracked healthcare account from its general fund. Trussalo said his conclusion was far different from the state, and that by removing the healthcare account, as directed by the comptroller’s office, the city is also removing some stability from its general fund and overall budget.
Trussalo – who’s conducted the independent audit of the city’s finances for the past several years – also said he was not interviewed by the state comptroller’s office during its review of the city finances.
At the end of September the comptroller released a report critical of the city finances – in regard to both the healthcare account, budgeting for healthcare costs, and for failing to properly document how the city does long-term financial planning. The state audit reviewed more than four years of city financial records.
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