City's audit report reveals interesting numbers

Audit reports are dry documents, packed with numbers and written in a legalese certified public accountants learn in graduate school, so a look at Yorba Linda's latest finance statements can be a mind-numbing experience for a layman.

But within the 80-plus pages of the annual audit of the city's financial reports for the most recently completed fiscal year are nuggets of information that many who've paid the taxes and fees that have kept this city humming for 47 years might find interesting.

The current audit, conducted by Moss, Levy and Hartzheim, was viewed by the City Council at a March 3 meeting. The firm found this city's statements “fairly presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles,” noted city Finance Director Dave Christian.

Here are some highlights from the audit for the fiscal year ending last June 30:

--Add up cash, investments, receivables and capital assets and the city has more than half a billion dollars worth, $503,897,141 to be exact. But subtracting liabilities that total $13.9 mill-ion leaves the city with a total net position less than the half-billion, $489,980,468 to be exact.

The largest component of this city's monetary worth is capital assets – property, plants, equipment and infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, sidewalks and similar items – valued at more than one-third of a billion dollars ($376,278,483).

--A biennial physical condition assessment of one key capital asset – paved streets – is required by the county Transportation Authority and was most recently completed June 2014.

“Using a scale of 0 to 100 with 0 being a badly deteriorated street with virtually no remaining life, and 100 being a brand new street, it has been determined that the expenditure required to maintain the overall condition of the city's streets in 'very good' condition is approximately $6.6 million per year,” the audit stated.

The city spent $4.5 million on streets in 2013-14 and earned an evaluation in the “good” range, which set the current average pavement condition at 76 out of the 100 maximum.

--The city has three funds for business-type activities: Black Gold Golf Club ($5.8 million revenues, $6.1 million expenses); waste disposal ($5.3 million revenues, $5.2 million expenses); and Black Gold-Community Center catering ($102,000 revenues, $157,000 expenses).

Payoff of Black Gold construction bonds to save future interest payments cost the city $14.1 million, with the audit noting the Club “will eventually pay back the advance… (but) currently, there is no repayment schedule in place.”

--As a former independent special district, the library collects separate property taxes, more than $4.6 million last fiscal year. Add other income, including rents, fines and contributions, and revenue approached $5 million. Expenses totaled $3.7 million, and reserves now stand at $15.1 million to help pay for a new facility.