Meeker earns glowing audit report

MEEKER I The independent audit of how the Town of Meeker is run financially shows a town that continues to have a large cash carryover and is being well run by town officials, notably the town administrator and town clerk.
The audit of town finances and reporting methods for 2012 was completed by Colorado CPA Services, PC, with offices in Meeker and Rangely. The audit found nothing wrong with the the town’s accounting, its reporting and the budget process utilized by the Town of Meeker under the supervision of Town Administrator Scott Meszaros and Town Clerk Lisa Cook.
The audit in no way offers an opinion on the financial status of the town, but the figures speak for themselves, and those numbers indicate that Meeker is doing very well financially and that it is being run according to all rules and regulations set forth for auditing.
The audit states, “We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinions
“In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, all material respects, the respective position of the government activities, the business-type activities and each major fund of the Town of Meeker, Colo., as of Dec. 31, 2012, and the respective changes in financial position and, where applicable, cash flows thereof for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”
“We got just what we wanted with the audit,” Meszaros said. “We received exactly what any city or town would want — an audit that says we are totally clean with no problems or deficiencies.”
The audit does point out three financial highlights gleaned from the audit.
The town’s assets exceeded liability by $16,531,976 as of Dec. 31, 2012.
The town’s total cash and investments increased by $990,078 or 13 percent from 2011; and
The Dec. 31, 2012 General Fund balance is $9,63l,191 more than at the end of the previous year, and the total fund balance is 287 percent of the 2012 General Fund operating expenses.
The town also claims $16,871,561 in total assets.
“I am pretty proud of the audit and what it shows,” Town Administrator Scott Meszaros said. “It indicates that the mayor and town council have been diligent about watching the finances and expenditures and it indicates that Town Clerk Lisa Cook has done an excellent job of keeping and recording the business of the town.”
The town’s adopted budget for 2012 was $975,650 but expenditures only came to $816,992.
“Overall, our sales tax income is down, but we did receive more mineral leasing funds than we expected,” Cook said. “And more of the good news is that we have $6,546,277 in cash reserves.”
“But the best news the town can have is that we have absolutely no current financial obligations outstanding,” Meszaros said. “We have paid all our bills, we have no outstanding bonds and we don’t owe anybody anything.”
“I wouldn’t call it bad news, but of that reserve, there are some funds that are spoken for,” Meszaros said. “We have lots of money available, but we are still committed to spending our share of the upcoming sidewalk project, which will see sidewalks put in this summer on the north side of Market Street from Fourth Street to Watts Market.
“We also have an aging water system and are expecting some problems down the line with the supply lines,” he said. “Those aren’t fixed until they fail. That could happen soon, but I would say we don’t expect them to fail in the real near future. However, it certain helps to know that we have the funds to fix them if we have that problem.”
Another beneficial occurrence during 2012 was the water fund paid off the remainder of the town’s indebtedness on its most recent water line expansion.
“Overall I would say the town should be highly pleased with the current financial position,” Meszaros said. “The town staff, management and town board members all work extremely hard to be be responsible.
“I believe we can handle anything we run into,” he said. “(Previous Town Administrator) Sharon Day left the town in good shape, I believe the board has always acted conservatively and certainly the town has benefitted from Lisa (Cook’s) experience with the books.”
Cook has been with the Town of Meeker for 10 years and has been town clerk for eight.