At the end of last fiscal year Lathrop had so much money left over in its general fund balance that it could continue operating as a city for at least years without any additional revenue.

That was one of several takeaways from the City of Lathrop’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2021 – an audit that earned the city a “clean” designation from the auditing firm of Lance, Soll, and Lunghard.

Such a designation means that the city’s data is free from any material misstatements and the information is presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principals in the United States and inline with Government Audit Standards as set by the Comptroller of the United States.

The report contained a copy of Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association that the city earned the previous fiscal year.

According to the document, the city had $43.9 million left in the general fund at the end of the last fiscal year with $6.7 million in unassigned fund balance – a surplus amount that the city said came from increased property and sales taxes due to the economic recovery from the early days of the pandemic.

When using the general fund expenditures of $19.4 million in 2021 as a baseline, the general fund balance at the end of the 2021 fiscal year represents approximately 25 months of basic operating expenses for the city – meaning that the city could continue to operate per usual for more than two years even if another dime wasn’t taken into the city’s coffers.

And just because Lathrop is flush with cash doesn’t mean that the excess money is being spent.

After two adjustments were made to the 2021 budget during the year, actual expenditures came in 23 percent below the final budget – at only $16.8 million. This helped boost the actual revenues at the end the year by $8.4 million above the final budget review estimate – further increasing the ending fund balance of the general fund.

While the report that was accepted by the council was written before the Lathrop Police Department took over law enforcement duties for the City of Lathrop, City Manager Steve Salvatore included in his analysis that the financial position of the city clearly shows that the city’s financial position indicates that it’s an “ideal” time to take on such a monumental task – something he said will provide the city with “more officers, personalized service, and predictable costs.”

The city will be submitting its annual comprehensive final report once again for consideration for a certificate of achievement for the second consecutive year.

To obtain a copy of the city’s annual comprehensive financial report, or to review any other publicly-posted documents, visit the City of Lathrop’s website at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.