by KIM HILSENBECK
The city of Kyle did something the federal government could not: spend within its means.
Finance Director Perwez Moheet said the audit from the firm Atchley & Associates, shows the city did not spend more than it received in taxes in the prior fiscal year. In fact, the city took in $288,000 of revenue in excess of its budget.
That means the city coffers are back in the black.
“The city is better off than it was a year ago,” Moheet said. “Department managers are religiously monitoring their budgets.”
The auditors noted some deficiencies and suggested several areas for improvement; the most important was internal controls related to regular bank reconciliations. When performed monthly, the auditor said it ensures potential problems are caught early.
Moheet said when he came on board, those bank reconciliations were only done every 90 to 120 days. Now they are down to about every 70, and on track to be every 30 to 45 days.
Part of the delay, Moheet said, was not having a staff person assigned to this task regularly; he told the City Council he often had to pull staff from other tasks to get the bank reconciliations done.
The city hired a new staff person to assist with financial tasks. Moheet said this should help reach the target for timelier bank reconciliations.
