As part of its recently revealed “unmodified opinion” on Williamsport’s 2023 audit the auditing firm told City Council it issued an “adverse opinion” regarding the Williamsport Parking Authority.

What was considered a good-news audit for the city indicated also that the WPA had to catch up on its audits not completed since about 2019, according to Kim Stank of the firm Zelenkofske Axelrod, the city-hired independent auditing firm.

“This is some good news for financial statements,” Stank said. “We’ve kind of went down a long road over the past few years and we are pleased to be able to present an unmodified opinion over your primary government,” she said.

That includes the opinion on government-wide finances, fund statements and primary government itself, she said.

Playing catch up on audits

There is an adverse opinion for the “component unit,” the Williamsport Parking Authority, Stank said.

The parking authority currently is behind in their audits, she noted.

“Because of the way that they are set up, they are actually a component of your government as a whole, however, separately, discreetly presented,” she noted.

“At some point we can get them caught up as well and be able to include them in your report,” Stank said.

The city had an unmodified opinion audit for government activities, business activities, major funds and remaining funds.

Stank lauded Jamie Livermore, city director of finance and that team, for getting the city 2023 audit to where it is today. .

“Who is handling … the parking authority is still completely behind on their audits like from 2020 up?” Councilwoman Liz Miele, chair of the city finance committee, asked Stank.

“From, I believe, 2019,” Stank said.

Miele asked if they had a contracted firm that was supposed to be handling those audits, or not?

“We had talked to them in June or July and sent them a proposal and I had followed up several times but I have not heard so I don’t know if they had contracted with someone or not,” Stank said.

“Our hope was, when we talked to them, I think it was the bank that was wanting them to go the whole way back,” she said. “We suggested maybe we could talk to the bank,” she said regarding whether or not the information from 2019 was necessary for the bank.

“Do they really need that, we are now six years later,” Stank said. “Could we do 2023, 2024 and 2025 (audits)? she asked. “Could we have some other mix of reports and the bank was pretty insistent that they wanted to go back to 2019.”

If Zelenkofske Axelrod would be contracted, it could, again, revisit, and would be happy to talk to the authority and see what it could provide to possibly help the authority, she added.

“I am glad that you are a little invested in that,” Miele said.

“I think that is probably something that City Council should probably ask for a meeting with the parking authority (Councilmen Eric Beiter and Randy Allison – members of the committee) to get to see where they are at,” she said. “I think there are a lot of questions about exactly what is going on there.”

“Anything we can do to help we’d be happy to do,” Stank said.

Jared Kinley, parking authority board chairman, told the Sun-Gazette after this discussion he’d be happy to arrange a meeting with anyone on council.

“We have not missed a payment,” Kinely said, adding there are all new employees and that there are “no secrets inside the parking authority.”

He noted how the authority was presently planning to send out a letter of engagement for auditing firms to look at the books back to 2019.

He suggested once the auditor is hired then the 2019-2020 audit could be accomplished in, perhaps, as soon as three to six months, followed by 2021-2022 in 2027, and onward until they are caught up.