On the Audit Trail
Cloudcroft's long overdue financial audit for fiscal year ending June 30, 2023 has finally been published via the state auditor. As expected, it doesn't look good.
The Village of Cloudcroft’s 2023 forensic audit, completed by Las Cruces firm Beasley, Mitchell & Co., was released online by the State Auditor on Friday, December 13, 2024.
As expected, this long-overdue document underscores how poorly the village managed its finances in 2022 and 2023.
The independent auditor’s report was so poor that the audit firm refused to stand behind the numbers and issued numerous harsh statements about what they had to work with.
They write:
“We were not able to verify balances due to inadequate accounting records relating to the Village's cash assets as reconciliations were not performed. We were not able to verify book cash balances for the year ended June 30, 2023. We were unable to determine these amounts through the use of alternative procedures and, as such, are unable to express an opinion on cash assets as of June 30, 2023.”
“We were not able to verify balances due to inadequate accounting records relating to the Village's capital assets, accumulated depreciation, and depreciation expense accounts as of and for the year ended June 30, 2023. We were not able to verify accumulated depreciation at June 30, 2023 or the depreciation expense for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. We were unable to determine these amounts through the use of alternative procedures and, as such, are unable to express an opinion on capital assets as of June 30, 2023 and the depreciation accrual for the year then ended.”
“We were not able to verify balances due to inadequate accounting records relating to the Village's revenue and accounts receivable as requested records could not be provided. We were not able to verify revenue and accounts receivable for the year ended June 30, 2023. We were unable to determine these amounts through the use of alternative procedures and, as such, are unable to express an opinion on cash assets as of June 30, 2023.”
“The effect on assets, net position, and expenses of the governmental and business-type activities is not readily determinable.”
The audit spans the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2023.
The report contains a schedule of findings and responses. Of 11 instances of Significant Deficiency or Non-Compliance (pages 91 through 107), a memo from the village in October 2024 identifies the village clerk as the responsible party for implementing the village’s response — a currently unfilled position.
Read it for yourself. Download a PDF of the 2023 audit here:
We don’t know when the year-end June 30, 2024 audit will be published.
We don’t know if the audit (and perhaps the recent turnover in the Village Clerk position) will create problems for current or future grants.
The audit clearly shows that the Village of Cloudcroft has a long way to go to understand what happened financially and regain control of its reporting systems.
Overdue: Penalties and Interest To Date
Past mistakes cost the village penalities and interest to the tune of nearly $50k to date.
After sifting through past due Federal 941 tax notices sent to the Village from the IRS, it appears the Village was assessed an additional $49,272.91 in penalties and interest for the period from September 2023 through June 2024.
Our investigation continues.
The article continues after this: Cloudcroft Reader is proud to be sponsored in part by great businesses such as Cloudcroft Therapeutic Massage.
Tonight, Tuesday, December 17, the council leads a regularly scheduled meeting with lots on the docket.
The Reader will attend and report.
We’ve gathered some of the Reader’s previous reporting related to the Village’s finances:
Making a Budget, Day Two: Making a Budget, Day Three: Making a Budget
Cloudcroft Catch-Up: Your One-Stop Digest for Village News from Finances to Festivals
From Water to Roads: How One Grant Writer Shapes Cloudcroft’s Future
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😳😳😥 I can't comprehend how our trustees (who I genuinely like & respect), can dismiss former Mayor Craig Turner's request for a FT financial clerk 🤔. "We've done it with 4 employees in the past" is the justification?! Clearly, we have not.
And, to publicly deflect blame onto former PT employees -- who clearly were undertrained, under-supported, and overloaded with tasks far beyond their current training/capabilities -- I can't wrap my mind around it 🤯. We need a "Rapid Reset" and a new plan (clearly explained to constituents) ASAP.
I pray that the Trustees do the right thing here -- by a
A) Craig Turner
B) themselves (prior messes are certainly not the fault of new elects [not sure on prior elects?], & I can't imagine their undeserved stress 😥 -- but need to hear from them, so we can adequately support their ideas), and
c) concerned CC members.
We can do this! All good folks here! I (& many others) support our leaders. We don't care about possible missteps by the current Council. Explain, set forth a plan, and we will SUPPORT you!