Brookhaven’s financial records are in good shape and an adequate budgetary reserve was met for the first time in the city’s history, according to an external independent auditor.
Fulfilling the mandate in state law, an annual independent review of the city’s books was performed by Mauldin & Jenkins LLC. The audit explored all of Brookhaven’s financial records for calendar year 2016.
At the close of 2016, the city had a fund balance of $8.2 million, equivalent to cover 129 days of operating expenditures, or a 37.4 percent reserve. Standard industry practices indicate that 75-90 days is a healthy fund balance positon.
In 2015, Brookhaven’s reserve was 23 percent of budgeted expenditures. For the same year, the city received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association.
“Our policy is in line with the Government Finance Officers Association best practices of maintaining a reserve of three months of expenditures,” said Brookhaven CFO Steve Chapman.
“Increasing the reserve was a priority during 2016 and department heads demonstrated strong budget discipline,” said Brookhaven City Manager Christian Sigman.
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