Newton Finance Committee Accepts Clean FY2024 Audit With Five Federal Compliance Findings

NEWTON -- April 14, 2025, Newton Finance Committee accepts clean FY2024 audit but flags school lunch overclaim and persistent billing gap. The committee voted 6-0 Monday to accept the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, presented by Jim Petroski, engagement principal at CLA, who issued an unmodified opinion on the city's financial statements, the highest available. The general fund unassigned balance totaled $65 million, with $12.9 million in certified free cash remaining unappropriated as of the meeting. Auditors issued a qualified compliance opinion on the child nutrition cluster after finding that Newton's entire September 2023 school lunch claim was incorrectly submitted as all-free meals, creating what Petroski called "a significant overclaim" now under review with the state. A management letter comment on the failure to integrate police detail billing with the city's Munis system, flagged since at least 2014 and still managed through Excel and Microsoft Access, drew sharp criticism, with Councilor Julia Malakie comparing the situation to "still using typewriters." The committee also unanimously approved a $28,763 free-cash appropriation for a veterans benefit settlement and authorized acceptance of up to $59,400 from the Angell Elementary School PTO for new playground swings.