City of Shafter in good financial shape, audit says

The City of Shafter is in a strong financial condition with recurring revenues exceeding recurring expenditures on an ongoing basis and an adequate fund balance to cover current liabilities and a “prudent” reserve level, an independent audit says.

The City Council accepted the Financial Report for the city for fiscal year 2021-22 at their regular meeting on Tuesday night, and heard a favorable report from the accounting firm of Lance, Soll & Lunghard, which performed an audit on the city.

The positive condition can be attributed to the city’s long-term planning, conservative yet forward-looking fiscal policy, and proactive economic development program, which has resulted in strong business development growth, the report said.

At this time, the city has a total of $227 million in assets. The city also had an increase of $2 million in the revenue vs. expenditures column.

The report states that the city has a high revenue concentration in sales tax, with significant levels of sales taxes generated by a small number of taxpayers, along with a high concentration risk within the oil services and business sector. Sales tax accounts for almost 75% of revenue, $28.9 million for the year. The city had $90 million in the General Fund. Of that amount, $20 million is unassigned.

The city had $54 million that is assigned and which cannot be spent. The remainder of the funds are restricted, which means they can be spent only in certain areas.

LSL said the city was very cooperative during the audit, and no issues were found during the review.

The council also recognized Michael James and his staff in Public Works in observation of National Public Works Week. The team received proclamations and were thanked by the council for their dedication and hard work.