Auditors give city clean FY2025 opinion; reserves, pension notes highlighted

The City Council heard the results of the fiscal year 2025 independent audit at a Jan. 16 workshop, where outside auditors from MHP delivered an unmodified ("clean") opinion and identified no material weaknesses or instances of noncompliance.

"We provided the city an unmodified or clean opinion," MHP partner Stephanie Pickering told the council, summarizing the independent auditors' report and the single-audit results.

Why it matters: a clean audit opinion means the auditors concluded the city's financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position for FY2025. The presentation also flagged large actuarial liabilities (net pension and OPEB) that materially affect government-wide financial reporting and warrant council awareness.

Key findings and figures from the presentation: Treasurer Robin Lochman said the city's general fund revenues exceeded $85,000,000 in FY2025, an increase of about $4.6 million from FY2024. Growth included roughly $3.8 million from building permits tied to data center projects such as Meta and Microsoft. Sales and use taxes fell by about $883,000, while historic horse-racing receipts rose about $1.2 million; franchise fees increased by about $1.4 million and investment earnings rose from roughly $2.2 million to nearly $3.0 million. Expenditures totaled $72,400,000, approximately $7.8 million below budget, which Treasurer Lochman said boosted reserves by $12,520,000. The unassigned fund balance was $56,650,000 at June 30, 2025, equal to about 284 days of expenditures and above the council's 120-day policy.

Federal programs and single-audit: Lochman told the council the city expended about $10,470,000 in federal grants in FY2025 and therefore underwent single-audit testing. Pickering described the auditor's single-audit work as covering three programs (Assistance to Firefighters, assistance listing 97.044; Federal Transit Cluster, 20.507; and Highway Planning & Construction Cluster, 20.205) and said each complied in all material respects; she reported no instances of noncompliance for the tested programs.

Internal controls and accounting policies: Pickering said the auditors identified no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting. She also noted the city adopted GASB Statement 101 related to compensated absences (paid time off) as required; auditors said that policy change did not materially affect the FY2025 statements.

Pensions, OPEB and estimates: The auditors highlighted two notes of particular importance: the net pension liability and the OPEB liability. Pickering explained these liabilities are large and volatile and that assumptions and actuarial valuations are governed by the Wyoming Retirement Systems, with each participating employer reporting its proportionate share on its financial statements. In response to council questions, Pickering said the paid fire-A pension plan had improved after additional contributions and was about 93.5% funded as of the Dec. 2024 measurement period.

Council reaction and next steps: Council members praised the finance staff and the auditors for their work during a challenging year. The presentation concluded with no formal council action required; the workshop adjourned after the auditors answered questions.

Sources and attribution: Reporting in this article is based on the Jan. 16, 2026 city council workshop audit presentation and subsequent council questions. Direct quotes and findings are attributed to Stephanie Pickering (MHP) and Robin Lochman (City Treasurer) as spoken at the meeting.