No significant findings were made in the audit of Brookhaven’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014, and the city ended the year over $2 million in the black.

The city’s net position (balance) at the end of the 2014 fiscal year was $50,946,392. This was a $2,148,172 increase over the previous year’s position of $48,798,220. Much of that net position is tied to property and assets the city owns, not cash in the bank.

The city’s total revenues totaled $16,515,365 and the city’s expenses were $14,367,193. In the 2013 fiscal year, there was a difference in revenues vs. expenditures that totaled $3,382,927. FY 2014 saw a difference of $2,148,172, meaning the city brought in about $2 million more than it spent.

The total liabilities of the city decreased by $1,157,881 to $9,797,477 for the fiscal year.

“The financial state of the city is very good,” City Clerk Mike Jinks said. “All the funds are in good shape and there were no significant findings.”

There were two findings in the audit, neither being significant. One finding states the city did not provide bids for all of the requested invoices that require bids and the other states the city did not complete the Municipal Compliance Questionnaire. Both of these can be attributed to misplaced paperwork.

“For the city of Brookhaven, we continually keep in good financial shape,” Jinks said. “If there were any issues, the board would know about it long before the audit got there.”

Jinks said expenditures can outweigh what is brought in by the city, but that is sometimes due to grant money that takes time to be received. The city has to spend the money and produce invoices before the process of reimbursement with grants can occur.

“The biggest thing [that could seem like a discrepancy] is some grant projects. The city may do the work and one year pay for the bills, but the grant money may not come in until the next year,” he said.

Some projects reflected in the 2014 fiscal year include the sewer project on Highway 51, sewer projects in Wards 2 and 3, the new FEMA building and the city’s purchase of the Brignall Water System. Jinks said most of the large expenditures are on infrastructure that most people won’t see unless it requires roadwork.

“Most people will never see infrastructure work that costs a lot of money to fix but that has to be done.”

Lowery, Payn and Leggett of Brookhaven handled the audit.