Small municipality financial guidance

Municipalities, both large and small, deal with a laundry list of financial issues and task each day and Baker Tilly has a long history of guiding our clients through those issues.  While no two municipalities are the same, we have found smaller municipalities to have unique needs.  These range from small, or even single, staff size to smaller budgets for triaging and financial software.  Often we are called upon to assist these clients with financial tracking and reporting, both State required and locally driven at the Council level.  Below are examples of service these types of clients have found valuable.

Budgets

With the annual budget process comes critical deadlines and too often shrinking levies.  We provide a wide array of budget services from the Form 1 to final submission.  Often municipal staff is adept at preparing the budget and request our assistance in analyzing the long-term viability of the spending plan.  Solutions include multi-year cash flow projections and meetings with department heads and the Council to explain the anticipated impact on the City or Town’s bottom line.

Annual Financial Report

Information on cash and investment balances, revenue and expenditure information, capital assets, accounts payable and receivable, debt and lease reporting, grants and pension information are all part of the annual report.  Bank reconciliations also need uploaded to Gateway.  Many clients utilize us to assist with completing this process.  Timely reporting has taken on an even more important role with the recent monthly Gateway filing requirements. 

Utility Financial Health

Often Council members and community members seek simplified reports regarding the financial strength of their utilities.  Questions such as are we in compliance with our bond ordinance, or are rates and charges at the correct level, or can we afford planned capital projects often come up.  To help answer these questions we have designed utilities financial reporting tools tailored to individual utilities.

Internal Reports

Some municipalities utilize ledger books or Excel for tracking financial data.  Often times these reporting tools become cumbersome the more information is input.  We have assisted several clients in streamlining their internal processes and system to make monthly and annual reports easier to produce.

For more information on this topic, or to learn how Baker Tilly municipal specialists can help, contact our team.

Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, LLC is a registered municipal advisor and wholly-owned subsidiary of Baker Tilly US, LLP, an accounting firm. Baker Tilly US, LLP, trading as Baker Tilly, is a member of the global network of Baker Tilly International Ltd., the members of which are separate and independent legal entities.