Auditors deliver clean opinion on Marietta’s annual financial report; ARPA single‑audit also clean

Bettina and finance staff introduced the city's annual comprehensive financial report and invited the external auditor to present findings. Jenny Harris, senior audit manager at Nichols Cauley, told the council the firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the basic financial statements and identified no material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting.

Harris also reported no reportable instances of noncompliance under governmental auditing standards and delivered a clean opinion on the single‑audit major program for the year — the ARPA grant, which represented 68 percent of the city's federal expenditures in the year under review.

Staff summarized balance‑sheet highlights: the city’s net position increased by about $49 million year‑over‑year, with roughly $28.5 million attributable to SPLOST projects and the remainder to business‑related revenue increases. The general fund balance rose by $2.4 million and the unassigned fund balance increased substantially and, per staff, would cover approximately two months of general fund expenditures (the GFOA minimum recommendation).

Council asked clarifying questions about notes payable and long‑term obligations; auditors pointed members to note disclosures and the statistical section for series‑by‑series debt details. No vote was taken to adopt the report at the work session; staff moved to place the ACFR on the Wednesday council agenda to receive and file the report.