ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Audit time is coming up for local governing entities, and the Liberal City Commission had those discussions at its most recent meeting Tuesday evening.

Dustin Ormiston from Hay, Rice & Associates was on hand to give some of the details of the 2025 audit.

“As always, I’d like to start by thanking the City of Liberal staff, they’ve always been good to work with and very responsive to suggestions we make,” Ormiston said. “They’ve also been great about correcting any issues necessary and being diligent about their part in this process.”

Ormiston began by talking about the independent auditor’s report.

“Like every other audit, that report features adverse and unmodified opinions,” Ormiston said. “The adverse opinion says we did not prepare the financial statements on GAAP basis, and that means we’ve chosen a different basis of accounting, which is a statutory basis of accounting in the state of Kansas to present the financial statements. On that basis of accounting, we have an unmodified opinion, which is the highest level of opinion that can be received. That unmodified opinion states, in all material respects, everything was reported correctly on the financial statements.”

Ormiston then went into more detail with some of the overall highlights of the report.

“The base report shows the statement of receipts, expenditures and unencumbered cash on the regulatory basis, which is basically modified cash under Kansas statutes,” Ormiston said. “From that statement, staff can look at what each of the individual funds have done through 2025 – the city started with an unencumbered beginning cash, receipts and expenditures and end with unencumbered ending cash. That also includes an adjustment for the accounts payable to get back to the actual cash that’s on hand at the end of the year. When the city is in budget season, this report’s fairly relevant, and it’s always important to review your cash balances and the direction they’re going and be diligent on maintaining all of those. In the past couple years, some of the balances have seen some decreases, and that’s something to always be aware of. There’s another report that’s probably pretty relevant at this point in time, and that includes the budget compared to the total expenditures for 2025 fared. This report shows compliance with budget law and how none of the funds were overexpended beyond statutory authority from the budget that was approved by the Liberal City Commission.”

The work on the audit did not stop there, Ormiston said.

After approving the 2025 audit, the commission approved the 2026 Audit Contract as presented by Hay, Rice & Associates in an amount not to exceed $65,000.

Earlier in the meeting, IT Director Tim Lunceford was recognized as the Employee of the Quarter.

“This quarter, we would like to recognize an employee who has consistently demonstrated a commitment to innovation by development technology solutions that improve the way the city operates,” Human Resources Director Jennifer Arguijo said. “This year, he created the Atlas dashboard, a centralized tool that brings together critical data from multiple departments, giving leadership access to real-time information that supports decision-making, strategic planning and operational efficiency. His vision and creativity have provided the city with resources that will benefit our organization for years to come. In addition to this achievement, he was instrumental in the establishment of the city’s employee Internet a few years ago and most recently was involved in our summer movie nights by purchasing proper equipment and testing it in advance to ensure a seamless opening night, which was hugely successful. The IT department is often behind the scenes and working quietly to keep systems running, solve problems before they become visible, and create solutions that make a big impact. Their work is not always recognized, but it is essential to everything we do as an organization. We are truly grateful for his dedication, dependability, and the countless ways he supports the team every day.”

In the meeting’s other new business, the commission adopted the Standard Traffic Ordinance and the Uniform Public Offense Code as well as an agreement with USD 480 for a School Resource Officer. The commission also approved the appointments of Myvette Garcia, Joshua Ramos, and Melissa Bernabe Vargas to the Liberal Youth Council  and a bid from Lee’s Heating & Air LLC in the amount of $27,040 for the replacement of the HVAC unit in the Commission Chambers at the Liberal Recreation Center.