Certified public accountant Nick Myers answered questions Tuesday night about the city of Goodman's 2018 audit.
Myers, who serves as the CPA for Goodman, addressed various issues that had arisen in previous city council meetings. Goodman City Clerk Karla McNorton had sent Myers some questions ahead of time for his review.
Of most interest was an explanation of a $1.2 million asset in Arkansas. JF Fisher had asked about that listing in the audit in recent months.
Myers said the amount, located at Community Bank and Trust, was partly covered and backed by the FDIC. That amount, approximately $250,000, was secured there.
The remainder, approximately $98,232, was backed by securities held in Arkansas, he explained.
Myers explained other variances in the budget, including keeping funds in specific accounts. How the revenue is generated determines in which fund it is designated.
The city still is paying on bonds, which will mature in 2040. If the city were to pay off the bonds today, the city would save approximately $480,000 in interest, Myers said. However, if the city paid off those bonds and then had to borrow the money again to improve more water infrastructure, the bonds may or may not be at the same interest, he said.
In other business, alderwoman Beth Hallmark said she had launched a new Facebook page for the city of Goodman as a "trial run." She reported that 151 people have liked the page since last Thursday. Approximately 153 people are following the page. She has structured the page so that it provides information only.
She called the page "pretty successful."
The city previously had a Facebook page but took it down after McNorton expressed concern about archiving any comments that were made to the page. McNorton had returned from a clerks' meeting, where they learned about archiving to remain in compliance with the Sunshine Law.
Hallmark said several people had commented on the new page, but that she turned off those comments. When asked if an archiving system had been established, she said she had set up the page to be archived. Those comments, now deleted, are archived, she said.
General News on 12/05/2019