Indian River Lagoon Council accepts clean audit, approves grants and adopts FY26 budget

The Indian River Lagoon Council voted Friday to accept a clean independent audit for fiscal year 2024, approve a set of grant awards from federal IIJA funding and adopt its fiscal year 2026 budget.

Audit accepted

Christine Noll Rand, audit partner from Carr, Riggs & Ingram, told the board they had issued a clean opinion on the council's financial statements. "You did get a clean audit opinion," Noll Rand said, and she added that the council holds an unassigned fund balance equal to roughly seven months of expenditures. The auditors reported three single-audit findings tied to grant compliance procedures but no questioned costs. The board approved the audit unanimously on a motion by Cole Oliver, seconded by Commissioner James Clasby.

Priority communities IIJA awards and immediate allocations

Daniel (staff member) presented the results of a prioritized review of submissions for the IIJA priority communities RFP, which recommended five projects above a 75% threshold. The five recommended projects included an Education Foundation of St. Lucie County proposal to create a marine and oceanographic academy (Discovery Magnet at Francis K. Suite); Brevard Zoo programs to empower high school students; a Boys & Girls Club environmental program; a Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County septic-to-sewer effort in Vero Beach; and a Little Growers resilience and restoration project.

Council members voted to follow "option 1," which applies remaining IIJA funds to two immediate priorities: cover a $17,858 shortfall to fully fund a council boat purchase and fund an eligible septic-to-sewer project proposed by the City of Port St. Lucie for roughly $300,000 that was ranked eligible in the prior review cycle. Daniel said the funds are time-limited: "We can't just take it and put it in our reserves. We either use it or we lose it." The motion to adopt option 1 passed unanimously (moved by Commissioner Jeff Brower; seconded by Commissioner Kim Atkinson). The council directed staff to negotiate contracts with the funded applicants.

Small grants and FY26 budget

The council also approved a ranked list of 14 small-grant applicants and moved to fund the top seven projects for a total of $32,410. Projects include citizen-science monitoring, student scholarships to museum and marine exhibits, an expanded Lagoon Watch kit with nitrate/phosphate testing, school field trips and outreach. The vote to fund the top seven and authorize contract negotiations passed unanimously.

Finally, the board adopted the fiscal year 2026 final budget (Resolution 2025-02) after modest line adjustments reported by staff; the rollup total remained approximately $8.5 million. The budget passed unanimously on a motion by Commissioner Hirsch seconded by Commissioner Cole Oliver.

Why it matters

Council leaders said the funding decisions try to balance immediate community engagement, low-income septic-to-sewer need and support for the seagrass nursery network and restoration partners. Staff warned that several IIJA-funded programs are time-limited and must be allocated within the current work plan cycle.