City of Woonsocket releases FY’16 audit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 18, 2017

 

Contact: Blake Collins, bcollins@woonsocketri.org, office: (401) 762-6400 ex: 2963, cell: (508) 838-3371

 

 

Woonsocket, RI: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt today announced the release of the City’s 2016 fiscal year audit. The audit, performed by Hague, Sahady & Co., P.C., based in Fall River, MA, identified a $3.2 million operating surplus for FY’16 and certified that there were no material findings with the city’s financial statements and internal controls.

 

“The FY’16 audit findings released today reflect the hard work this city has undertaken over the last three years to bounce back from a serious financial situation,” said Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt. “Responsible budgeting and improved collection efforts made during this administration has ensured that our City eliminates wasteful spending and makes the most out of hard earned taxpayer dollars. Our team in the Finance Department, led by Director Christine Chamberland, has done an outstanding job in administering our City’s finances.”

 

The identified surplus figure includes approximately $1.0 million that has been reserved for both future healthcare liabilities, as per the FY’17 adopted budget, and outstanding encumbrances that were incurred at year-end 2016. Of the remaining FY’16 surplus amount, a total of $810K will be assigned to the City’s Budget Reserve Account, as dictated in the FY’17 adopted budget, with the rest going into the City’s unassigned fund balance.

 

“From the outset, my administration has placed a priority on returning stability to our City’s budget,” said Baldelli-Hunt. “By implementing prudent budgetary practices Woonsocket has avoided unnecessary borrowing without issuing any further General Obligation debt.”

 

The City’s dedicated efforts during FY’16 resulted in property tax collections that were $1.2 million above what was anticipated in the budget. The increased FY’16 property tax revenues were mainly due to collections of prior year taxes, interest on previously unpaid taxes and non-utilization taxes. Under the direction of the Finance Department, a concerted effort was made to identify and collect overdue taxes from delinquent accounts and this contributed greatly to this year’s surplus. Other revenue increases included a reimbursement of $186,666 in federal funds from FEMA to cover expenditures incurred during the Blizzard of 2015 and almost $100,000 over the budgeted amount received from rescue runs.

 

“I am very pleased with the outcome of the FY’16 audit,” said Finance Director Christine Chamberland. “This is the earliest the audit has been completed since FY 2013, thanks to the hardworking staff in our Finance Department and the accounting firm Hague, Sahady & Co. The work continues however, as we focus on streamlining procedures and improving internal controls.”

 

The City’s expenditures for FY’16 were approximately $1.0 million lower than budget, reflecting a departmental-wide emphasis on prudent spending and cost control. Savings achieved during FY’16 include, approximately $622K from the Department of Public Works, mainly as the result of a decrease in expenditures in Highway and the Solid Waste Division.

 

The audit findings come at the conclusion of an accounting review conducted over multiple months during the Fourth-Quarter of 2016. The FY’16 audit, as well as the FY’16 and FY’17 budgets can be viewed in their entirety on the City’s website.

 

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