By Talaina Kor The Holbrook City Council received a summary of the annual financial audit from city auditor Scott Graff for the fiscal year of 2020 during the Feb. 25 meeting. Graff stated that he did not find any material misstatements that required any additional adjustments during his audit. “Material is a number that would be big enough that somebody would really care about,” explained Graff. He also added that anything below material typically gets passed on. Graff went on to explain what findings are and the importance they have. “Findings are where we come across those policies and procedures that we feel are in need of improvement. Because if they don’t get improved the more they are in an area of weakness then they can become a material misstatement.” Three findings noted by Graff were bank reconciliation, auditor adjustments and formal written accounts of policies and procedures. Graff stated that these could be fixed by next year before the auditors begin their work. “Especially when it relates to federal funds, federal funds are requiring additional policies be put into your current policies and procedures,” said Graff. “We find that the City of Holbrook’s policies are outdated.” Graff recommended looking at similar cities and their policies and see what would work for Holbrook. Due to airport grant funds, they were required to do more than a single audit. The council also heard from Finance Director Randy Sullivan for the annual financial report. Sullivan stated that the sanitation fund is running over budget. “Currently through January we have a deficit in that fund of $45,647,” Sullivan also added that historically sanitation funds have always run in deficit and they will probably have to raise rates. City Manager Ted Soltis added that this deficit was anticipated and will be addressed during the budget hearing. HURF (Highway User Revenue Funds) were also in deficit, mostly due to the purchase of a street sweeper according to Sullivan. Sales tax were doing better than anticipated and all other funds were in order. The council approved the purchase of a topdresser for the golf course at the cost of $13,829, which is a 21.8 percent discount. A topdresser is used to spread a thin layer of materials over grass and ensure the ground is level and uniform. “This allows us to put whatever medium we put in it, whether it be sand, gravel, millings, at an even rate and the thickness that we want,” explained Golf Course Superintendent Steve Rutherford. The contract went to a Mohave cooperative. During the call to the public, the council heard from Kathleen Smith, who stated her support of the councilman candidate Kip Woolford. “He’s a hard worker and he’s resourceful and I think he would be a great asset for the Holbrook City Council.”
