City expects to meet budget deadline after past problems

Andrew Crider, Contributing Writer

Following a week of mixed messages from public officials, city council declared Richmond would complete its Comprehensive Annual Financial report by the Nov. 30 deadline set by the state, during an Oct. 12 council meeting.

Last year’s financial report for the 2014 fiscal year was published 10 months overdue on Oct. 5 of this year — five days after the city’s projected completion date. Doubts about this year’s 2015 report meeting state deadline began the day after the 2014 report was published.

“Our goal is to work as hard as we can to get it done sooner rather than later,” said Selena Glenn, Chief Administrative Officer, to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Glenn then said she would not give a specific completion date because “then you’ll use it against us.”

If Richmond were to miss the deadline, lawmakers would not be able to judge the city’s financial performance. The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) deadline allows Martha Mavredes, the state’s Auditor of Public Accounts (APA), to create a legislative report used to guide budget decisions for the future.

“It is the responsibility of the locality to prepare the (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) and to hire a CPA firm to audit the CAFR,” said Staci Henshaw, deputy auditor at the APA. “It is also the responsibility of the locality to take action to correct the situation that caused the delays.”

Henshaw said the reports allow the APA to see financial activity in the city and provide an overall perspective of the inflows and outflows of resources for the locality, including budgetary information for certain funds.

“When the reports are delayed, the information contained in them is not available timely for the governing body for decision making,” Henshaw said.

During the city council meeting last Monday however, deputy administrator of finance Lenora Reid said the report would be in by this year’s Nov. 1 deadline.

“We’re looking forward to meeting the state deadline,” Henshaw said. “That’s our goal.”