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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Belmont Audit Committee Meeting – November 18, 2024 Summary

City Council — Monday, November 18, 2024

BodyBelmont, California

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, November 18, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 37:53

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:12

Okay, so let's call to order.

0:14

Today is Monday, November 18th, 11 a.m.

0:17

And we're at City Hall, one Camp Nines Lane, third floor in conference room 360.

0:23

The public can participate by coming here to City Hall or by viewing the meeting live at Belmont's Zoom address 8808 68718825.

0:36

Moving to public comments and announcements.

0:40

First, are there any announcements?

0:44

For public comment, we encourage members of the public to provide oral comments.

0:48

Do we have anybody online who is no one online except for our auditor and then we're received by email?

0:56

Okay, awesome.

0:58

If people show up, subject to the three minute time limit.

1:02

The agenda amendments, are there any?

1:07

Just a little full roll call.

1:11

Thank you.

1:15

When did we do that?

1:17

After call to order.

1:18

Okay, committee member right now.

1:20

Yes.

1:21

And alternate committee member.

1:25

Thank you.

1:28

Rosen.

1:32

Um calendar.

1:35

No separate discussion unless somebody requests an item to be removed for separate action.

1:40

Does anybody want to pull an item?

1:44

Okay.

1:45

So I can entertain a motion.

1:48

Second.

1:52

And should we vote?

1:54

Oh yeah.

1:56

Okay.

2:01

Okay, other business.

2:06

Introduction.

2:08

For the audit results by Director Casanita.

2:11

All right.

2:11

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

2:13

So just want to do some quick introductory remarks for our audit results for the latest fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.

2:24

So overall for the city of Belmont, and that includes the Belmont Bar Protection District as a component unit.

2:38

So we're very proud of that, continuing that tradition here in Belmont.

2:43

We're also receiving clean opinions and assertions for our measure I, measure A, measure W.

2:51

So just quickly at our general fund.

2:57

And I'm talking about general fund excluding measure I because measure I is committed to capital improvements.

3:07

So I wanted to focus on the operations.

3:42

So it's uh performed a little bit better than last year.

3:46

Um the other thing is our reimbursement uh from the uh VLF shortfall that we um experienced two years prior.

3:57

So we were able to get that um in the fiscal year too.

4:02

So definitely welcoming news.

4:04

That's why you're seeing uh increase in the fund balance uh as we're seeing you know our balance being restored.

4:11

It's really is a um you know testament to our hard work efforts uh over the past few years towards our fiscal stability and fiscal sustainability.

4:20

Um it's definitely something we want to continue to monitor.

4:25

Uh and you know, as our neighboring cities are also getting their um uh financials finalized um and presented and all that, we'll want to update that general fund comparison between us and them and sort of see like where we stand.

4:43

Uh and then finally, you know, obviously this is a months long process.

4:48

Once we have the audit budget, we kind of jump right into uh year and close and audit process.

4:53

So definitely want to acknowledge my team, um, our accounting team, maybe in Mike, maybe in some training today.

5:01

Mike is on a very well-deserved vacation to Japan.

5:05

Um, who've been you know managing the audit process with our internal team and our external auditors and um obviously every team member in finance too.

5:14

We're a small but mighty shop, and we wear many multiple hats.

5:19

Um last but certainly not least, I want to extend my gratitude to our auditors at Mays.

5:28

Um you may have gotten used to seeing or seeing our uh audit partner, Amy, uh, but this uh she had to rotate all our engagement this year.

5:40

So we have Vic who is our audit partner this year, and she has been wonderful to work with.

5:49

Um she you know was able to learn how geo really quickly um and was super responsive to us throughout the work throughout audit.

6:01

So really appreciate her.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████79%

Procedural█████████16%

Personnel Matters███5%

Summary of Proceedings

Belmont Audit Committee Meeting – November 18, 2024

The Audit Committee of the City of Belmont convened on Monday, November 18, 2024, at 11:00 AM in Conference Room 360 at City Hall (One Twin Pines Lane, 3rd Floor). The meeting focused on receiving the FY 2023-24 audit results, approving the draft Audit Committee Annual Report, and reviewing financial policy updates. All agenda items were approved, and the committee received a clean audit opinion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes (June 4, 2024): The minutes were approved unanimously by motion and second; no items were pulled for separate discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public attended in person or online. No written public comments were received.

Discussion Items

FY 2023-24 Audit Results: Finance Director Grace Castaneda introduced the item, noting the city received an unmodified (clean) opinion on its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the year ended June 30, 2024, as well as on Measure I, Measure A, and Measure W. Audit partner Vikki Rodriguez of Maze & Associates presented the results:
- The city’s governmental activities net position increased by $13 million, and business-type activities net position increased by $9.7 million (corrected from a presentation error showing $33.2 million for 2023; actual was $62.9 million).
- General fund balance increased by $5 million, reaching $35.5 million.
- A new Capital Improvement Projects Fund was established to consolidate all capital project revenues and expenditures, simplifying multi-funded project tracking.
- Pension liabilities increased by $2.8 million (compared to $21.9 million last year), and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liabilities increased by $2 million.
- The city has a $2.2 million reserve for qualified capital outlays (Gann limit).
- No material weaknesses or significant deficiencies were identified in internal controls; no compliance findings for Measures A or W.
- Committee members posed questions on: the accelerated pension paydown strategy (ongoing), the synthetic turf capital lease, the new payroll system (now stable after earlier issues), and depreciation policies (assets over $5,000 non-infrastructure, $25,000 infrastructure, plus new GASB standards for right-of-use leases and SBITAs).
Draft Audit Committee Annual Report: Staff presented the draft report; a note was made to correct incorrect names in the document. The committee recommended approval with corrections.
Financial Policy Updates: Staff reviewed the annual update, noting the city follows best practices from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). The financial policies section is now included in the annual budget document appendix. The committee recommended inclusion of the updated policies in the Audit Committee Annual Report.
Committee Updates and Staff Items: The next meeting is scheduled for spring (April/May 2025) to review the FY 2024-25 audit plan and budget forecast.

Key Outcomes

Consent Calendar: Approved the June 4, 2024, minutes (unanimous).
FY 2023-24 Audit Results: Received and accepted; the audit reports (ACFR, Measure I, Measures A & W, Gann limit calculations) were presented and acknowledged.
Draft Audit Committee Annual Report: Approved as amended (name corrections to be made) and will be placed on the City Council agenda for November 26, 2024.
Financial Policy Updates: Recommended inclusion of the updated financial policies in the Audit Committee Annual Report; motion carried unanimously.
Next Meeting: Scheduled for April/May 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, so let's call to order. Today is Monday, November 18th, 11 a.m. And we're at City Hall, one Camp Nines Lane, third floor in conference room 360. The public can participate by coming here to City Hall or by viewing the meeting live at Belmont's Zoom address 8808 68718825. Moving to public comments and announcements. First, are there any announcements? For public comment, we encourage members of the public to provide oral comments. Do we have anybody online who is no one online except for our auditor and then we're received by email? Okay, awesome. If people show up, subject to the three minute time limit. The agenda amendments, are there any? Just a little full roll call. Thank you. When did we do that? After call to order. Okay, committee member right now. Yes. And alternate committee member. Thank you. Rosen. Um calendar. No separate discussion unless somebody requests an item to be removed for separate action. Does anybody want to pull an item? Okay. So I can entertain a motion. Second. And should we vote? Oh yeah. Okay. Okay, other business. Introduction. For the audit results by Director Casanita. All right. Thank you, Vice Mayor. So just want to do some quick introductory remarks for our audit results for the latest fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. So overall for the city of Belmont, and that includes the Belmont Bar Protection District as a component unit. So we're very proud of that, continuing that tradition here in Belmont. We're also receiving clean opinions and assertions for our measure I, measure A, measure W. So just quickly at our general fund. And I'm talking about general fund excluding measure I because measure I is committed to capital improvements. So I wanted to focus on the operations. So it's uh performed a little bit better than last year. Um the other thing is our reimbursement uh from the uh VLF shortfall that we um experienced two years prior. So we were able to get that um in the fiscal year too. So definitely welcoming news. That's why you're seeing uh increase in the fund balance uh as we're seeing you know our balance being restored. It's really is a um you know testament to our hard work efforts uh over the past few years towards our fiscal stability and fiscal sustainability. Um it's definitely something we want to continue to monitor. Uh and you know, as our neighboring cities are also getting their um uh financials finalized um and presented and all that, we'll want to update that general fund comparison between us and them and sort of see like where we stand. Uh and then finally, you know, obviously this is a months long process.

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