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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Audit Committee (2025) Update – August 26, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, August 26, 2026

BodyDanbury, Connecticut

SessionMeeting Portal

DateWednesday, August 26, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 32:59

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

0:00

With them every day, we can bring it up.

0:02

Call this meeting to order for those of you that aren't getting paid by the hour because it's exempt status.

0:10

We will get started with the uh the ad hoc that is called for 6 p.m.

0:15

today, Wednesday, August 26th.

0:17

This is the 2025 ad hoc committee for the audit.

0:22

And this is a beginning of this ad hoc committee.

0:26

We will not adjourn, but this is a meeting to kind of start getting the lowdown on where 2025 is.

0:34

Um, and hopefully see that we get closer to it being done in 2026 being started.

0:40

So in the room.

0:42

I am Frank Salvatore.

0:44

I'm the chair.

0:45

I have councilman Joseph Britton, Councilwoman Andrea Gartner.

0:51

I have Councilman Mike Henry, and uh Michael Coelho is excused.

0:56

He is on uh vacation.

0:58

Uh that is the five-person committee in the room in no particular order at all.

1:04

Uh actually it's by Wargan uh here.

1:07

So it's uh councilwoman Mia Spain Reykal, uh President Peter Bazaid from the Mighty Third, uh Councilman Ben Chianese, and um Candace Fay is still here with us from the mayor's office.

1:23

We have Tot O'Brien.

1:25

She's right here.

1:26

She's here, she's in the room.

1:27

Oh, I thought I heard a door slam over this.

1:29

Oh, she went to the ladies' room.

1:30

Um we have T Dot O'Brien uh from the City of Danbury finance side.

1:35

We have the Dan, Kara, Joanne, and and Angela.

1:40

Angela.

1:41

Oh, well, Dave, no.

1:43

Angela is next for the Danbury Public School Finance Department, right?

1:47

Yes.

1:47

And that's Angela, who's representing Mike.

1:50

Mike Weaver.

1:51

So who is on vacation as well.

1:53

And in the room, we also have Kate Canetta from our uh Board of Education.

1:59

I don't think I missed anybody.

2:01

Um, like I said, this is the opening salvo of the 2025 audit from the legislative perspective.

2:10

And uh I'd asked the mayor and I thank the mayor for putting the uh committee together so we can start getting a view of what's going on with the 2025 audit and what to expect ahead.

2:25

With that said, I am going to open it up to the finance team from the city of Danbury.

2:42

Oh, thank you.

2:46

Can we get the volume?

2:47

Yeah, we got a lot of things.

2:48

Sorry, he's gonna connect your sound.

2:50

Thanks.

2:50

Okay, we can barely hear you, but uh they're gonna connect it to the so we had some zoom issues on our end logging in.

2:57

Oh, so that means you could bill us some six as well.

3:04

Lauren, give us a little count so we can see if we get the right speaker.

3:09

One, two, three.

3:11

That's good, perfect.

3:12

Okay.

3:13

Lauren, I just introduced everybody in the room.

3:16

I'm not gonna embarrass them again, but uh Lauren, thank you uh from RSM for being here.

3:22

Um I'm Frank Salvatore.

3:23

I'm the chair of the ad hoc committee, and we have called this together to just get an update on where we are with the 2025 audit.

3:33

And I was going to open it up to finance, but I figured you know what?

3:38

Let's let her go first from the RSM perspective, and then uh hear some things uh from the team here on the ground.

3:47

So Lauren, uh, I'll ask you to uh speak.

3:52

Sure.

3:52

So obviously the audit uh the 2025 financial statements and then the related federal and state compliance audits remain in progress.

4:01

I would say the majority of the requests have been provided.

4:05

Um, and you know, a lot of our testing has been completed.

4:08

There are some open areas that we're working through with the city and DPS.

4:13

Um, and then obviously trying to get the engagement through the final reviews and financial reporting and completion procedures.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████████████████████████68%

Public Engagement███████████16%

Procedural████████12%

Pending Litigation███4%

Summary of Proceedings

Audit Committee (2025) Update – August 26, 2026

The Audit Committee (2025) ad hoc committee met on August 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM to receive an update on the progress of the audit for fiscal year 2025. The committee includes council members Frank Salvatore (chair), Joseph Britton, Andrea Gartner, Mike Henry, Mia Spain Reykal, Peter Bazaid, Ben Chianese, and representatives from the mayor's office and finance departments. The external auditor, RSM, reported on the status of the audit. No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

Lauren from RSM presented an update: the 2025 financial statement and related federal/state compliance audits remain in progress. The majority of requests have been provided and much testing is complete. Open areas include pension and OPEB allocation entries, which were received from the city's actuaries as of the previous day (August 25). RSM expects to finalize the ACFR and state single audit by the end of September; the federal single audit may extend slightly beyond that.
RSM shared a request list status from their server link, showing a high proportion of fulfilled (green) items for the city and DPS. The federal single audit list had a larger gray area (outstanding items), but the number of items is small relative to the total. Five to six items remain open on the DPS side.
City finance representatives (Candace Fay, Dan, Joanne, Angela) noted delays from the 2024 federal single audit, new GASB pronouncements, and the implementation of the Munis system. Despite these challenges, the team has worked continuously and has begun preliminary work on the 2026 audit.
The OPEB liability decreased by approximately $12 million due to a correction from the prior consultant, requiring additional verification from actuaries.
Council members asked about a projected surplus. Finance indicated a surplus is expected but not yet quantified; rough estimates of $5-8 million were mentioned for the school side, but final figures are not available.
Council questioned major delays. RSM stated no single party was the cause; third-party actuarial reports and data processing were key factors.
Council requested access to draft financials for review. RSM estimated a draft could be available within one to two weeks after incorporating the pension/OPEB entries. The chair noted that drafts have not been shared broadly in the past but the committee would receive updates.
Council asked about contingencies for a major lawsuit; city finance confirmed it would be disclosed in the long-term liabilities footnotes.

Key Outcomes

No vote on the audit itself; the committee will continue meeting to review further drafts.
Motion made and seconded to continue the ad hoc committee subject to the call of the chair; passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned.
The chair requested that the management letter be provided alongside the final audit when completed.

Meeting Transcript

With them every day, we can bring it up. Call this meeting to order for those of you that aren't getting paid by the hour because it's exempt status. We will get started with the uh the ad hoc that is called for 6 p.m. today, Wednesday, August 26th. This is the 2025 ad hoc committee for the audit. And this is a beginning of this ad hoc committee. We will not adjourn, but this is a meeting to kind of start getting the lowdown on where 2025 is. Um, and hopefully see that we get closer to it being done in 2026 being started. So in the room. I am Frank Salvatore. I'm the chair. I have councilman Joseph Britton, Councilwoman Andrea Gartner. I have Councilman Mike Henry, and uh Michael Coelho is excused. He is on uh vacation. Uh that is the five-person committee in the room in no particular order at all. Uh actually it's by Wargan uh here. So it's uh councilwoman Mia Spain Reykal, uh President Peter Bazaid from the Mighty Third, uh Councilman Ben Chianese, and um Candace Fay is still here with us from the mayor's office. We have Tot O'Brien. She's right here. She's here, she's in the room. Oh, I thought I heard a door slam over this. Oh, she went to the ladies' room. Um we have T Dot O'Brien uh from the City of Danbury finance side. We have the Dan, Kara, Joanne, and and Angela. Angela. Oh, well, Dave, no. Angela is next for the Danbury Public School Finance Department, right? Yes. And that's Angela, who's representing Mike. Mike Weaver. So who is on vacation as well. And in the room, we also have Kate Canetta from our uh Board of Education. I don't think I missed anybody. Um, like I said, this is the opening salvo of the 2025 audit from the legislative perspective. And uh I'd asked the mayor and I thank the mayor for putting the uh committee together so we can start getting a view of what's going on with the 2025 audit and what to expect ahead. With that said, I am going to open it up to the finance team from the city of Danbury. Oh, thank you. Can we get the volume? Yeah, we got a lot of things. Sorry, he's gonna connect your sound. Thanks. Okay, we can barely hear you, but uh they're gonna connect it to the so we had some zoom issues on our end logging in. Oh, so that means you could bill us some six as well. Lauren, give us a little count so we can see if we get the right speaker. One, two, three. That's good, perfect. Okay. Lauren, I just introduced everybody in the room. I'm not gonna embarrass them again, but uh Lauren, thank you uh from RSM for being here. Um I'm Frank Salvatore.

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