Chelsea City Council Receives Positive Year-End Financial Audit Report

On December 18th, David Helisek and Keith Szymanski of Plante Moran presented the city's June 30th, 2023, year-end financial audit to the Chelsea City Council. The audit's findings were largely positive, showcasing the city's strong financial health.

Helisek noted the audit’s timeliness and quality. He said, "The other good news is the opinion is an Unmodified Opinion, which is the highest level of assurance that we can give a set of financial statements."

Szymanski provided a detailed breakdown of the city's financial status, starting with the general fund. He reported, "2023 General Fund revenue was nearly $5.8 million, which is up about 4% from the prior year." He also noted the stability of property tax revenue, stating, "If we were to go into the details and look just at the revenue generated by the operating levy, that was about a 6% increase over 2022."

On the expenditure front, Szymanski observed a modest increase, explaining, "Here the total for the year was $5.4 million, which was up about 11% Compared to the previous year." He also highlighted the fund's financial health: "The increase for 2023 was about $338,000, bringing the total to over $2.3 million."

Turning to enterprise funds, he reported on the water, wastewater, and electric funds. He informed the council that costs were outpacing revenue for electricity, noting, "In this case, there was an 8% increase in revenue and about an 11% increase in expenses."

In his closing remarks, Helisek discussed the audit's internal control and compliance aspects, reassuring the council, "The audit went very well this year... There was one item that resulted in an adjustment to the valuation of some inventory in the electric fund... really doesn't affect operations at all." He also mentioned the city's legacy costs, noting, "You can see on page five, we've broken those down by years just on the funding levels, much higher than... the minimum requirements."

The audit presentation can be found on the city council meeting video for December 18th posted on the city’s website.

Image: David Helisek and Keith Szymanski of Plante Moran present Chelsea City Council with the city's June 30th, 2023, year-end financial audit. Image: City of Chelsea video.