City Receives Clean Audit

bentonharborcityhall1-49
bentonharborcityhall1-49

The city of Benton Harbor has received a clean, unmodified audit for the most recent fiscal year. At Tuesday’s meeting, city commissioners were told the latest audit carries the highest possible rating and that no deficiencies or weaknesses were found. The city’s fund balance has gone up by more than $800,000, largely because of the new income tax. Mayor Marcus Muhammad said the strong audit, plus income tax money coming in, could enable even bigger infrastructure projects to come.

“A clean, unmodified audit, that puts us in a position where the city of Benton Harbor will be able to bond,” Muhammad said. “So after we find out at the end of the tax season what all has been collected, we will be in a position to leverage those tax dollars.”

The income tax money reflected in the audit would be from witholdings. City Manager Darwin Watson told us the final amount raised by the new income tax won’t be known until the end of April. The city’s fund balance stands at $4.4 million.