City Gets Clean Audit, Council Approves New Parking Lot Downtown

By: Jeremy Handel, Staff Writer
jeremy@thewoodrufftimes.com

At the November Woodruff City Council meeting, Mayor Kenneth Gist and three council members were sworn in for their new terms, and council members heard a report on the city’s latest clean, independent audit. Council members also authorized City Manager Lee Bailey to move forward on a contract to pave a new parking lot for public parking downtown.

Dozens of supporters were in the audience to witness the swearing-in of Mayor Gist and council members William “Buddy” Arnold, Sharon Kelley, and Mattie Norman. All were re-elected to their seats in the November election.

Matt Phillips, CPA, presented the annual independent audit report to the Council, noting the city once again received an unmodified audit opinion, signifying a clean audit and the best result for the city.
Phillips said the city has a “strong net position” financially, with a positive fund balance of more than $4.4 million.

“The city has an overall positive position on both sets of financials for the year,” he said. The city has two sets of financials per government accounting standards: the government-wide financials and fund-specific financials.

The city was also required to have a separate audit specifically focused on federal government funds that were received and spent. Phillips indicated there was one note in that audit indicating the city’s accounting staff is undersized, but he said that is common among small municipalities and not a concern. Currently there is one employee in the accounting department with oversight by Mr. Bailey, City Manager. The remainder of the individual audit showed no issues or material weaknesses. This audit was related to funds the city received from the COVID recovery funds.

In action items, the Council unanimously approved a resolution giving Bailey the authority to move forward with a contract for just under $150,000 to grade, pave, and stripe a vacant lot the city owns behind the Arthur State Bank property on Main Street downtown.

“The mission was always to use that lot for public parking,” Bailey told the Council. “The time has come as downtown continues to grow and more people are visiting.”

The Council also approved the second reading for the annexation and zoning of a 1.65-acre parcel at 210 Snowmill Road. The parcel is part of a larger housing development and was inadvertently left off of the original annexation and zoning. The land will be added to the larger development.

They also approved the Council meeting schedule for 2024, continuing to hold meetings on the last Tuesday of each month, with the exception of December due to the Christmas holiday. The Council also approved Toni Sloan as Mayor Pro-Tem.

Woodruff City Council meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month at City Hall. The meetings are open to the public. The December meeting was held on Tuesday, December 12, due to the holiday season.