STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 118
Issue 23
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021
City passes annual audit
FIRST TIME FOR TRADITIONS
BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A Littleton-certified public accountant gave the city of Brighton two financial thumbs up for its financial picture through Dec. 31. Haynie & Co. conducted the annual audit. The findings included no proposed adjustments. Brighton City Council got the news during its May 25 meeting. The auditor’s letter to city staff said the firm examined “financial statements of government activities, business-type activities, the aggregate discretely presented component units, each major fund and the aggregate remaining fund information” for last year. The letter said the cash flow and “budgetary comparison” for the general fund were in line with basic accounting principles. “We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion,” the firm’s letter said. Part of the audit included identification and assessment of what the firm called “material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error.” The auditor also evaluated the accounting policies and what it called “reasonableness of significant accounting estimates” from city management. Those, plus other factors, contributed to the firm’s conclusion about potential conditions or events “that raise substantial doubt about the city’s ability to continue … for a reasonable period of time.” The city’s charter requires an annual audit by a council-selected certified public accountant. Talking money The city’s finance department distributed its first-quarter financial report for 2021. It shows an 11 percent increase in tax collections,
Student body leaders Alex Cimino (President), right, and Jared Jurado,(Vice President) do some last minute primping, prior to the first ever commencement at Riverdale Ridge High School on May 24. 187 diplomas were awarded. See the story and photos on page 8 and coverage of other area graduations on pages 9 and 10. PHOTO BY STEFAN BRODSKY
thanks in part to strong grocery sales. Sales tax revenue is up 12 percent through the first three months of the year. The top 10 businesses in town (including Amazon, Home Depot, King Soopers, Johnson Auto, United Power and Western United Electric) collected 11 percent more
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OBITUARIES LOCAL CALENDAR LEGALS CLASSIFIEDS
sales tax and generated more than half of the city’s tax revenue, documents said. It’s costing more – 17.3 percent more – to operating the city because of restocking deicer supplies following the March blizzard, plus the cost of computer maintenance.
LOCAL
2 • Anythink Concert 3 Series returns 7 13 15
• Page 3
HEALTH • Seniors struggle as they emerge from their COVID cocoons
• Page 8
The city issued almost 180 business licenses through the end of March. The vast majority – 140 – are for vendors in Brighton. Fifteen are for home-based businesses. Four others are for mobile vendors, and the remaining 19 are for commercial enterprises.
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