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Century Explains Financial Issues To Florida Legislative Auditing Committee
March 29, 2025
The Town of Century has filed a response to an inquiry form the Florida Legislature’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC) requesting answers regarding findings from its last three years of audits.
The committee is established under rules of the Florida Legislature with a membership that includes members from the House and Senate. It has responsibilities that are designed to provide continuous oversight of government operations, in part, through the auditing and review activities of the Auditor General.
Specifically, the JLAC requested a response regarding audit findings that identified issues with cash management, account reconciliation, capital asset tracking, and the town’s overall financial condition.
In a written response to JLAC, interim mayor Alicia Johnson said the town acknowledge the findings, and “is actively implementing corrective actions to address them and ensure long-term financial stability.”
The letter included a corrective action plan:
Audit Finding: The town experienced issues with inadequate funds for customer deposits and debt service reserves in the Natural Gas Fund.
Town Response: The Town has taken steps to rectify the situation. Officials have implemented a monthly cash flow analysis to better track and manage the fund’s resources. Additionally, the Town is exploring potential rate adjustments to ensure the long-term stability of the Natural Gas Fund and is actively working to meet all debt service obligations. The report also indicated that funds will be transferred from the State Board of Administration to cover customer deposits and debt service requirements
Audit Finding: The town failed to properly reconcile multiple general ledger accounts, resulting in audit adjustments.
Town Response: The town has already taken corrective action in this area, implementing and continuing monthly reconciliations of multiple general ledger accounts. Acknowledging past staffing challenges, the town is currently conducting staff training aimed at enhancing the accuracy of financial reporting. Officials anticipate full resolution of this issue by the end of the current fiscal year, FY 2024-25.
Audit Finding: Due to leadership turnover, capital asset records were not properly maintained
Town Response: To address this, the town has initiated a comprehensive inventory of all assets and has established new tracking procedures. Officials anticipate having all assets accurately recorded and appropriately tagged by June 2025.
Audit Finding: The town continues to experience financial challenges, including deficit net positions in the General Fund and Natural Gas Fund.
Town Response: To address these broader financial concerns, the Town is actively implementing a financial recovery plan. This plan encompasses measures such as expenditure reductions, debt restructuring, and strategies for revenue enhancement. The Town is also considering an operating transfer for interfund loans with the goal of moving the affected funds towards a positive fund balance and a positive net position.
The town also included responded to the state with a “Strategic Initiatives for Improved Financial Oversight“.
The plan included:
- The town council contracted with the Local Government Consulting Group in December 2023. The municipal management consulting firm, with experience across multiple states including Florida, was tasked with developing a strategic plan to help the Town address the financial and operational issues identified in the 2022 audit.
- The town council discussed the potential benefits of hiring a full-time finance director and town administrator at their meeting on December 3, 2024. While a final decision was not reached, there was agreement on the potential efficiency of combining these roles into a single town administrator/finance director position.
- To formalize this approach, a proposed ordinance establishing the position of town administrator (who would also serve as finance director) is scheduled for discussion by the town council. This ordinance would pave the way for the town to hire a full-time administrator with a specific focus on financial oversight, utilizing the findings of the FY 2022-23 audit as a guide for direct action and improvement.
“The Town of Century remains committed to implementing sustainable solutions that strengthen its financial management practices and ensure compliance with all applicable regulations,” Johnson concluded.
Comments
8 Responses to “Century Explains Financial Issues To Florida Legislative Auditing Committee”
Basically there answer is no..My reply would be If you can’t account for tax dollars why should we trust tax dollars with you.
Instead of accepting the typical responses from these requests, why not add a timeline for corrections? No accountability will result in no corrections.
I think the town of Century has been learning from Washington
Response from the city: “word salad”
SOUNDS LIKE A JOB for ELON and DOGE..
corrupt, incompetence at its finest just like the politicians in DC that are responsible for this country’s debt!!
Century’s response sounds like and is a neverending circle. It is eternally redundant, at this point. Years of this nonsense is as old as Century appears to be. Good Lord, give Century back to the County. What a big waste of money and pretty embarrassing.
If they can explain it why can’t they take the steps starting to FIX it?