TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Onyx Jones, Interim Finance Director
Julie Bondarchuk, Financial Controller
Amira Khodari, Accounting and Payroll Supervisor
SUBJECT:Title
Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (No Budget Impact) (Interim Finance Director Jones).
(Estimated Time: 30 Mins.)
RECEIVE AND FILE
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file this report.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action. The results of fiscal year (FY) 2023-2024 are summarized below and are included in the attached Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).
BACKGROUND:
The City’s financial policies require an annual audit performed by an external auditor. An audit is also required to obtain the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) and is oftentimes a requirement for grants or federal awards. This year, the annual audit consists of the interim audit (May 2024) and the final audit (October/November 2024). During these audits, the external auditors prepare audit working papers in compliance with the General Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). These working papers document the information gathered during an audit and provide evidence that sufficient information was obtained by the auditor to support the audit opinion.
The audit results and the FY 2023-2024 ACFR financial statements were presented and discussed with the Finance Subcommittee at the February 13, 2025, meeting.
The audit firm of Lance, Soll and Lunghard (LSL) issued the City an unmodified opinion on the FY 2023-2024 financial statements, which are prepared in all material respects and complying with governmental accounting practice. The opinion is issued once auditors obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to the financial statements due to their testing. An unmodified opinion is the best possible outcome.
DISCUSSION:
Attached to this report is the City’s ACFR for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. This independent audit report is prepared with the assistance of the City’s auditor, LSL, the certified public accountancy firm selected by the City Council. Staff would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the auditor’s professionalism and diligence in the completion of the audit.
The attached report contains detailed information about the City’s financial results for FY 2023-2024. The document, which is in an industry-standard format, is organized as follows:
Introductory Section
The Introductory Section includes the City’s transmittal letter providing an executive summary of the financial and economic events characterizing FY 2023-2024. A review of the transmittal letter will help the reader understand the City's organizational structure and provides performance highlights of the City’s most significant funds and operations.
Financial Section
The Financial Section presents the independent auditor’s report and Financial Statements. The auditor’s report contains two main sections: the Audit Opinion and the Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A).
Audit Opinion
The Audit Opinion, worded in an industry standard format, provides a statement by the auditor attesting to the fair presentation of financial data in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and government accounting standards.
Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
The required MD&A is intended to serve as an introduction to the City’s basic financial statements, comprised of three components: 1) Government-wide financial statements, 2) Fund Financial statements, and 3) notes to the financial statements, which is an overview and analysis of the financial activities of the City of Manhattan Beach for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.
Government-wide Financial Statements
The Government-wide financial statements are designed to provide readers with a broad overview of the City’s finances, in a manner similar to a private-sector business. These statements utilize full accrual accounting (which recognizes revenue in the period it is earned, and expenses in the period occurred) as is done in private industry. The statements included in this section are the statement of net position and the statement of activities. Both government-wide statements are designed to show the annual increase or decrease in net assets and, in doing so, distinguish functions of the City that are principally supported by taxes and intergovernmental revenues (governmental activities) from other functions that are intended to recover all or a significant portion of their costs through user fees and charges (business-type activities). The governmental activities of the City include general government, public safety, public works, planning, building and safety, and recreation. The City’s business-type activities include water, wastewater, stormwater, and parking.
Fund Financial Statements
The Fund Financial Statements include governmental funds reported on a budgetary modified accrual basis (which recognizes revenues when they become available and measurable and, with a few exceptions, recognizes expenditures when liabilities are incurred), and proprietary funds reported on a full accrual basis. Major governmental funds (General Fund) and major enterprise funds (Water, Wastewater, Parking) are shown individually, while non-major funds are aggregated into a single column (full details are listed later in the document). Internal service funds are considered minor proprietary funds and are aggregated following enterprise funds.
The Notes to the Financial Statements section follows, which provides financial disclosures about the City’s financial statements. That section is followed by the Combining Financial Statements & Schedules and the Statistical Section. The combining statements are presented in the traditional fund manner and report on the details of all non-major funds which appear on a combined basis in the front of the document. The Statistical Section, not subject to audit review and testing, provides general trend information presenting financial and economic data over time.
The first attachment to this report is the Letter of Transmittal, which has been extracted from the FY 2023-2024 ACFR. The Letter of Transmittal provides an overview of the financial information contained in the statements. In addition, there is discussion of:
• Profile of the Government
• Budget Process
• Financial Policies
• Major Initiatives
• Factors Affecting Financial Condition
• Executive Financial Overview
Staff recommends that the reader, at a minimum, review the Letter of Transmittal and MD&A portion of the report. Both the Letter of Transmittal and MD&A can be referenced in the introductory sections of the ACFR.
Highlights and Trends
As of June 30, 2024, the City’s net position was in line with prior year totaling $244.9 million government-wide, a decrease of $380,924 compared to FY 2022-2023.
Governmental Funds
Total net position in Governmental Activities (General, Capital Improvements, and Special Revenue) in FY 2023-2024 was $112.6 million. This was a decrease of $8.5 million compared to a decrease of $35M in FY 2022-2023. Revenues in the Governmental Activities totaled $111.1 million, an increase of $6.0 million (5.7%) from the prior year driven by the performance in the taxes and services categories and an increase in interest revenue. Expenditures totaled $118.9 million, down $22.1 million (15.7%) due to recording significant pension expenses in the prior year.
General Fund balance was at $40.4 million, up $1.7 million compared to the prior year. The General Fund operating deficit totaled $3.7 million due primarily due to recording $9.4 million of capital outlay due to the implementation of GASB 96 (Subscription Based Information Technology Arrangements); however, the operating deficit is offset by net financing sources and uses of $5.3 million. Transfers out included $2,376,698 to the Storm Drain Fund, $1,994,920 to the Capital Improvement Fund, $252,991 to the Street Lighting Fund, and $208,286 to the Fleet Fund. Since a successful Proposition 218 process for the Storm Drain Fund subsequently passed in FY 2023-2024, future General Fund support to the Storm Drain Fund was eliminated in FY 2024-2025. The subsidies to the Street Lighting Fund will continue unless a Proposition 218 assessment vote can be passed to fund operations going forward.
Enterprise Funds
The total Business-Type Activities net position totaled $132.4 million, up $8.1 million from the prior year. Fund revenues totaled $28.4 million, up $3.3 million compared to the prior year. Operating expenses totaled $23.8 million, an increase of $5.1 million from the prior year. Operating surplus before transfers totaled $4.6 million, down $1.0 million from the prior year. Unrestricted net position increased $2.0 million to $36.0 million due to the construction of capital projects that absorb working capital and increase investments in capital assets.
Pension Contributions
In May 2021, the City issued pension obligations bonds, which virtually eliminated its unfunded liability with CalPERS by replacing it with bonded debt. By issuing the POBs, the City was able to finance 100% of the current net pension liability (NPL) at a true interest cost of 2.72%, 4.43% lower than the CalPERS discount rate of 7.15% at the time of issuance. Moreover, the POBs allow the City to budget level debt service payments at $5.5 million annually rather than trying to balance the budget for escalating Net Pension Liability (NPL) payments that would have eventually risen up to $10 million by 2032.
CalPERS investment returns were 5.8% for FY 2022-23, which increased the net pension liability $8.5 million to $24.3 million in the current financial statements. In comparison, FY 2020-2021 resulted in returns of 21.3% and a net pension asset of $51.9 million, while FY 2021-2022 resulted in a net pension liability of $15.8 million due to returns of negative 6.1%. The fluctuation of returns year-over-year can dramatically affect the City’s net position.
Managing pension liabilities and meeting retirement obligations remain one of the City’s biggest challenges. Over 95% of retirement costs are attributable to the City’s Governmental Funds and growing pension costs have the potential to crowd out other funding needs. The City has therefore developed an Unfunded Pension Liability Policy to provide a guideline on addressing future NPL. Future pension costs and liabilities will be monitored continuously and addressed to position the City to be able to meet future financial obligations.
In closing, staff is pleased to report that the FY 2023-2024 financial audit resulted in the City once again receiving an unmodified opinion. Furthermore, City Council General Fund policy reserves remain fully funded at the end of FY 2023-2024. However, it should be noted that the City received one finding during the audit due to a staff recommended restatement of $2.9 million in the prior year for capital assets and due to the materiality of the number of journals entered after the trial balance was submitted to the auditors. The Finance Department is working closely with the City Manager on addressing this finding by increasing the number of experienced finance staff dedicated to the accounting and year-end close procedures.
The City Manager and Finance Director wish to recognize the dedication, hard work, and attention to detail of all departments during the year that enables the City to achieve the unmodified opinion. Special recognition is in order for Finance staff, particularly Julie Bondarchuk, Libby Bretthauer, and Amira Khodari. Mr. Calvin Kunkel, CPA & Manager with the audit firm of LSL, will also be available remotely during the City Council meeting on February 18, 2025, to answer questions.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR)
2. Report on Internal Control (Management Letter)
3. Audit Communication Letter
4. PowerPoint Presentation