The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 09, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 28, 2008 Page: 5 of 36
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THE CANADIAN RECORD
NEWS PAGE
THURSDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2DDB
City auditor delivers positive
2007 fiscal report to Council
"The City of Canadian is in good con-
dition," City Auditor Mikal Willamon told
Council members lastweekas he presented
the 2007 audit report. The City closed its
fiscal year with about $6.1 million in net
assets, about $55,000 in long-term debt,
and an unrestricted, unreserved general
fund balance of just over $1 million—or
about 98 percent of the City's annual oper-
ating expenses.
That figure alone representsa $425,549
increase—a marked improvement over
last year's unreserved fund balance,
which represented 60 percent of total gen-
eral fund expenditures for the year. A gen-
eral rule of thumb is for governments to
maintain unreserved fund balances in the
range of 30-60 percent of annual expendi-
tures, said Willamon, an Audit Manager
for Brown, Graham and Co. in Spearman.
"One year is not excessive by any means,"
he added.
The City completed the year within its
budget, he observed, despite increases to
salaries enacted midway through the year
to help stem the flow of employees to more
lucrative jobs in the oil and gas industry.
At the end of the fiscal year, the City re-
ported positive balances in all categories
of net assets, with an overall increase of
$607,668. That increase was partially at-
tributable to a 19 percent increase in sales
taxes from 2006, the sale of Rotary Park,
and keeping expenses down.
Not all of the audit report news was
rosy—though the report Willamon pre-
sented to the City Council last Monday
was on the whole a very positive one. The
City Auditor did note that the City infra-
structure is aging, and that even a healthy
budget allows little room for its expan-
sion—a nod to earlier discussions about
new industrial development across the
In Hemphill County Hospital on Wed-
nesday: Marie Schneider of Lipscomb, Keith
Hazen, One Do Not Publish, Donald Day.
Dismissed last week: Karen Randall, One
Do Not Publish (Feb. 20); Dewayne Barber,
Jason McAnally, Payton Jackson (Feb. 22);
Denise Kidd, Kaden Jackson (Feb. 23); Ray-
anna Davina, Kelly Butler, Mason Apel, Ila
Petitt (Feb. 24); Walter Guthrie (Feb. 25);
Taylor Cook of Shamrock, Lenora Rogers
(Feb. 26).
There were 45 Physical Therapy visits
and 116 procedures; 36 Home Health visits;
12 Hospice visits; 100 Out-patients; 18 Emer-
gency Room patients; and 7 Ambulance runs.
tracks—or for unexpected demands that
might result from system failures. "You
have a lot of infrastructure that needs
maintenance from time to time," he said.
Willamon also noted several areas in
which the City could increase efficiencies
or strengthen controls in its accounting
procedures—concerns that Willamon ad-
mitted are typical in a city of this size. He
noted the need for an accounting policies
procedural manual—a project that he said
is understandably low on the totem pole
with so many other projects on the table.
He also stressed the need for journal
entry documentation and the mportance
of segregation of duties in the City office,
but acknowledged the difficulty and cost
of hiring additional staff to perform those
jobs.
"Our recommendation is that you per-
form a study of office functions with the
goal of finding ways to separate Incompat-
ible duties," he said.
Willamon expressed concerns about
the way employee expense reimburse-
ments and compensation for disability and
life insurance are handled by the EDC, as
well as concerns about segregation of dut-
ies at the golf course. He recommended
policy changes that would address those
problems in both offices.
This is the second year Brown, Graham
and Co. has served as the City's auditor,
and Willamon praised the improvements
in management of the business office.
"This year, we were able to cut the time
required for audit preparation in half," he
said.
Overall, Willamon was pleased with
the City's fiscal position. "You had a very
good operating result for the fiscal year,"
said Willamon. "You're in a good spot."
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Back row left to right: Dora,
Candee, Cathy, Marilyn; Bottom
row: Amy, Myra, Debra and not
pictured, Gena.
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Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 09, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 28, 2008, newspaper, February 28, 2008; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252693/m1/5/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.