Keeping the books balanced is sometimes a thankless job, but it is a very important job, especially when those books involve taxpayer funds.
The City of Carlsbad and its residents received some very good news at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Director of Finance Melissa Salcido reported that the City of Carlsbad was issued an Unmodified Report from the accounting firm Hinkle & Landers. An Unmodified Report is an opinion of the auditor that provides a high level of assurance that the financial statements are presented, in all material respects, in accordance with applicable financial reporting standards
Additionally, the City of Carlsbad’s June 30, 2021, Financial Statements, Notes to the Financial Statements, and the Independent Auditor’s Report were all submitted timely to the State Auditor. It has been a challenging few years in terms of finances – there have been multiple changes to how gross receipts tax is calculated and multiple issues due to COVID-19.
There were no material weaknesses or other instances of noncompliance identified in financial reporting or internal controls. There were also no significant deficiencies identified. This is the second consecutive year that the City of Carlsbad has not received any audit findings. Not every community in the state has a timely submission and no findings.
This is a big deal for the City of Carlsbad, and it is an even bigger deal for our residents, because it means that the professional men and women who are managing taxpayer funds are doing an excellent job. Congratulations to Director of Finance Melissa Salcido, as well as members of the City’s finance team, including Sandy Gonzalez, Matthew Fletcher, Jessica Ponce and Brittany Aragon. They all put in a lot of work to make sure everything was correct. Thanks as well to City Administrator John Lowe and Deputy City Administrators KC Cass and Ted Cordova, as well as former City employee Wendy Austin.
Most importantly, thank you to Carlsbad City Council: Mayor Pro Tem Eddie Rodriguez, JJ Chavez, Jeff Forrest, Judi Waters, Karla Niemeier, Lisa Anaya-Flores, Mark Walterscheid and Wesley Carter. Our elected officials all volunteer a great deal of time to make sure our budget is both timely and accurate.
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There’s been a great deal of local support for efforts in Ruidoso right now. Here’s some new information for anyone wanting to help:
- The Red Cross is currently at capacity for Volunteers. They are making a list of names and telephone numbers of potential volunteers. We will contact you when we have a need.
- Water, Gatorade, pre-packaged food and toiletries are being dropped off at the Village Hall located at 313 Cree Meadows Dr., Ruidoso, NM 88345. Monetary donations can be mailed to the village.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway