Pine Belt Times

Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Friday, June 30, the Hattiesburg City Council met in a special called meeting to receive the Fiscal Year 2022 audit, completed by Topp, McWhorter, Harvey, PLLC. It was acknowledged with a 4-0 vote by the Council.  

This financial audit is the eighth audit completed since 2017, three of which were completed within the first 17 months of Mayor Toby Barker’s first administrative term.

Highlights from the audit include:

• The City received an unmodified opinion (this is the best opinion an agency can receive for its audit).
• No new findings were issued for the City.
• The City continued to experience growth in property and overall sales tax receipts.
• The City’s internet sales tax receipts were up 90.42% over 2021, totaling $3,789,976.
• Overall, the City had a positive change in net position of $19,340,504.

“We’ve worked deliberately with TMH over the years to make sure our audits meet legal standards and are on time,” said Barker. “This audit, the eighth completed in the past six years, continues to show our commitment to upgrading accounting proficiencies to meet the necessary technological needs for city departments, government regulators and the Hattiesburg public.”

He added, “I am grateful for our staff who work year-round to make sure these things happen in a timely and efficient manner, especially Comptroller Lisa Hansen, CAO Ann Jones, City Clerk Kermas Eaton and Interim CFO Malcolm Berch.”

The eight audits and receipt dates are listed below:

• 2015 audit received in December 2017
• 2016 audit received in July 2018
• 2017 audit received in November 2018
• 2018 audit received in June 2019
• 2019 audit received in June 2020
• 2020 audit received in May 2021
• 2021 audit received in June 2022
• 2022 audit received in June 2023

Audits for fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 were completed on time.

Original source can be found here