The city of Benton Harbor has received a clean and unmodified audit for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
City commissioners on Monday heard from Peter Woldman of auditing firm Rehmann that there was improvement throughout the year. He said the city’s net position grew, adding the city had budgeted the general fund for a deficit of more than $900,000 when it actually finished the year $1.4 million ahead.
Mayor Marcus Muhammad asked if the city is on solid ground.
“Your revenue was higher than your expenses,” Woldman said. “So, a net gain for the year.”
Woldman did note there’s one adverse opinion in the audit, related to the absence of housing commission information, but he added that wasn’t the city’s fault.
Commissioner Ethel Clark Griffin questioned why some credit card receipts weren’t accounted for, and City Manager Alex Little said tracking those down in every case can be a problem given the city’s staffing issues.
“We’ve gone through turnover with different people, going through training periods and the accounts payable position,” Little said. “We do have a person now that handles it extremely well. But as I said, I sign and approve just about every purchase that goes through the city.”
Mayor Muhammad said the city has faced many challenges with its cash flow, but the city has come out ahead. He added some policies will need to be updated to reflect current circumstances.
The audit did not take into account any emergency transfers of city income tax money to the general fund.
