Whiteville City Council will receive a presentation on the annual audit and an update on finances from Interim City Manager Colburn Brown Tuesday.
Brown is the city’s finance officer, and is filling in while the council picks a replacement for Darren Currie, who retired Dec. 31. Council has a special meeting scheduled Wednesday to discuss the interview process.
The city’s finances have been in the spotlight since last month. Auditors issued an unqualified opinion of the city’s books, which is essentially a clean audit with no issues.
The audit also asks for more details on the $1.8 million positive adjustment from Vineland Station.
Among the subjects Brown is expected to brief the board on the reported $706,000 operating deficit. Brown noted in an email that the deficit excludes transfers from other funds, such as payments from other departments used to help cover the mortgage for the new city hall.
The Local Government Commission changed some accounting rules mid-cycle last year, including no longer allowing funding from departments headquartered in city hall to be counted as revenue toward loans and mortgages.
The LGC also raised the recommended fund balance to 34 percent for the city. Currently the city has an unrestricted fund balance of 27 percent of current expenditures. The fund balance is held in reserve in case of emergencies.
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the council meeting room. The meeting may also be viewed online via whitevillenc.gov.
