Auditor issues clean opinion on Nacogdoches books; council to review final report at special meeting

The City of Nacogdoches received an unmodified audit opinion on its annual financial statements and the federal single-audit for federal funds, the city's independent auditor told the council Tuesday.

"We were able to give a clean opinion," Clayton Rogers, audit manager for Patilla, Brown and Hill, said during a presentation to the council, adding that the firm had also issued an unmodified opinion on compliance for federal funds. Rogers said the city expended about $1,300,000 in federal funding during the fiscal year, roughly $1,000,000 of which related to FEMA and mutual-aid winter-storm expenditures.

Rogers said auditors expect to include a comment about controls over the purchasing‑card (P‑card) process in the final report but described the issue as non‑material: "it's the best kind of finding that you can have, which is one that has already been corrected," he said. Finance Director Todd Simino told the council the city has already begun tightening processes, including segregating duties, limiting use of check requests, requiring receipts and invoices to accompany P‑card statements, weekly review of check registers, cross‑training accounting staff and moving payroll to human resources.

Several council members said they wanted to read the final printed report before formally accepting it. "I would like to see the document," one council member said during the discussion. The council took no formal action on the audit item at Tuesday's meeting and scheduled a special meeting for Monday at noon to review the finalized audit and, if ready, accept it. The mayor and staff said the auditor will try to provide the draft to council in advance.

The council was briefed on the audit as part of its regular agenda and was not required under local charter to approve the report tonight; members agreed to postpone formal acceptance so they could review the final document before voting.