TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file the Proposition H Audit Report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014.
DISCUSSION
Pursuant to Long Beach Municipal Code Section 3.80.227, the Office of the City Auditor is charged with conducting an annual independent financial audit of Proposition H (Prop H) funds and providing a written report to the City Council.
The City Auditor conducts annual audits of Prop H funds to identify the following: the amount of special tax revenues collected during the fiscal year, the amount of special tax revenue expended on eligible costs during the fiscal year, the amount of unspent monies on deposit that were carried over into the current fiscal year, and the status of any projects and programs funded by the special tax revenues.
We determined the following as a result of our audit:
1) During fiscal year 2014, the City received $3,683,928 of Prop H revenues, an increase of $122,525 or 3.4% over the prior year;
2) Prop H expenditures during the fiscal year totaled $3,064,586. Expenditures were $897,145 or 23% less compared to the prior year, and were made for eligible costs as defined in the Municipal Code;
3) The amount of unspent monies carried over into fiscal year 2015 increased to $1,178,884 and exceeds the reserve policy for the fund. The FY 2015 Adopted Budget for Prop H includes the use of close to $843,000 in reserve funds, which should bring the reserve balance to within policy by the end of fiscal year 2015.
4) Both the Police Department and the Fire Department intend to use their Prop H resources to continue funding certain designated public safety positions.
Since the inception of Prop H in June 2007 through September 30, 2012, annual oil production in Long Beach decreased. But for the past two fiscal years production has moved upward by almost 6%, correlating with the rising cost of fuel per barrel during the time, which averaged $95.62 and $99.22 in fiscal years 2013 and 2014, respectively. As of January 2...
Click here for full text