Nephi is not only in sound financial condition but has put into practice all but one of the findings for improvements recommended by auditors last year.
Kim Peterson, of Peterson, Ogden and Associates, Spanish Fork, complimented the city on working to comply with suggestions the accounting firm gave the city last year in managing its $8.3 million budget.Last year, the auditing firm suggested the city keep a more detailed inventory of electrical supplies. The city has done that. Peterson said the city has also complied with suggestions of computerization and improvements in handling bank escrows.
One finding will remain a suggestion for improvement for some time, said Peterson. It is better if those who handle cash do not also make entries in the books, the auditor says.
A city of Nephi's size could not, in reality, comply. If a city employee were sitting behind a desk and someone came to the counter to pay a bill and the employee said they could not take the payment, it would not help public relations, he said.
He said the City Council would need to pay close attention to the information on the bills and continue to hire people of high caliber as they have done in the past.
Suggestions for improvement for this year were already being taken care of, said Peterson.
The treasurer did not have a high enough bond because she had to handle the natural gas system monies. However, the city had already increased her bond from $300,000 to more than the required amount of $421,000.
The city needed to consider raising costs to the homeowner in the city for using the city landfill and garbage collection service, said Peterson. "The city had a net loss in the garbage and landfill collection catagory of $12,186."
The general fund balance was $176,402, said Peterson. It was important to have some fund balance on hand to operate for the first quarter of the next year before the property tax collections were made. The state only allowed a certain percentage to be retained.
"The 1991 fund balance was comfortable but not excessive," said Peterson.
There was a good reserve in the electrical department, he said. Auditors liked to keep enough in the budget so a breakdown could be handled, said Peterson.
"Tax revenue is up 9 percent," he said. Fines and forfeitures were up for 1991 as well.
The city had seen an increase in sales tax revenue. Part of the money, of course, came from the state fund but part came from an increase in sales. The city ended up with $40,476 more than anticipated and bugeted.