Chaska council accepts 2025 financial report; auditors issue clean opinion

The Chaska City Council voted July 20 to accept the city's 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and associated audit, after CliftonLarsonAllen gave the city an unmodified, or "clean," audit opinion.

Auditor Ezra Kitz told the council the financial statements "present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the City of Chaska as of December 31, 2025," and described a year in which the city's entitywide net position rose to about $299.1 million, an increase of roughly $27.5 million from the prior year. City staff noted the increase reflected donated capital assets tied to new development and other factors.

City presenters and auditors highlighted several operational details the council will factor into this year's budget work: the general fund ended 2025 with an increased fund balance of $789,477; enterprise funds accounted for roughly two-thirds of total operations, and the electric utility remains the largest enterprise fund, contributing about $5.1 million to the general fund in 2025. Auditors also confirmed no material state compliance findings and said the federal single audit work related to the city's federally funded emergency operations center project remained in progress and expected by the September deadline.

Council members thanked finance staff for the work that produced the report. City staff said unrestricted net position improved to $9.4 million from a negative $1.4 million the prior year and reiterated the city is continuing a multi-year practice of adding $300,000 annually to reserves to strengthen long-term fiscal stability.

The council approved a motion to accept the ACFR and related audit reports; the acceptance formally begins statutory posting and publication steps and clears the way for budget discussions slated to begin in early August.