Audit adds up city's financial worth

So, you might ask, after 46 years as an incorporated city, how does Yorba Linda fare financially in terms of cash resources and capital assets?

The answer to that question can be gleaned from more than 100 pages of audited financial documents presented to the City Council recently by Finance Director Dave Christian.

Three reports and explanatory material, prepared by the independent auditing firm Lance Soll & Lunghard of Brea, reflect the city's financial condition through the end of the most recently completed fiscal year, and, according to the auditors, “present fairly” the city government's cash and asset positions.

Overall, the city's total assets, including cash, investments and capital assets, approach the half-billion dollar neighborhood, namely $518 million assets with $29 million liabilities.

Capital assets, which include land, street pavement, buildings, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and other infrastructure, total a bit more than $400 million, with the remainder in various forms of cash and investments.

The city's largest expenses last year included $11.6 million for public safety, $10.6 million for “general government,” $9.8 million for public works, $6.4 million for parks and recreation and $2.6 million for community development, as well as $2.9 million for interest paid on long-term debt.

Of that $43.9 million total, $5.8 million was recouped by collecting fees and other charges for services and another $5.3 million came from operating and capital contributions and grants. Taxes paid for the rest.

Interestingly, of the city's two “business-type” activities—golf and solid waste disposal—the former lost money, while the latter showed a bit of a profit.

Black Gold golf expenses totaled more than $6.7 million against some less than $5.9 million in revenue for a negative impact of $864,151, while the city's weekly trash pick-up cost more than $5 million with about $5.2 million in revenue for a positive impact of $130,931.

Of course, expenses for the city's golf operation included $814,519 in depreciation, and the audit ledger listed $782,545 in debt-related interest expense.

Also, according to the audit report, “The General Fund made various advances to the Golf Course fund for capital projects. There is no set repayment schedule or an accrued interest rate at this time. The balance outstanding at June 30, 2012, was $4,702,898.”

Net assets for Black Gold at the beginning of the fiscal year were more than $5.3 million, dropping to about $4.4 million by year's end. The trash operation reduced a negative net asset value of $793,567 to $663,917.

A couple of interesting facts about the city's capital assets: the audit listed Black Gold's net value as nearly $27 million and the city's former Redevelopment Agency land held for resale at $18.8 million.

Since the state forced the agency's dissolution last year, the former agency's assets and liabilities have been held in a “private-purpose trust fund” that listed assets at about $62 million and liabilities at more than $107 million. Total principal and interest remaining on the former agency's land debt is $141.6 million, payable through 2033.