City FY2020 Audit Extended 60 Days. The State Auditor Brian Colon and his team were notified yesterday by the City of Santa Fe that the fiscal year audit of 2020 will be filed at the end of August. This represents a 60-day extension from the previous schedule of June 30.

At the same meeting the City assured State Auditor Colon that the Buckman Direct Diversion and Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency FY 2020 Audit components will be delivered to the State Auditor’s Office on June 30, 2021. The City of Santa Fe is the fiscal agent for both. By having their audits submitted at the end of June, neither organization will be impacted by the extension.

The City also committed to contract for additional outside support to assist with the FY2021 Audit.

Ms. Stephanie Woodruff is Chair of the City’s Audit Committee, an independent oversight body, and she attended the meeting with the Office of the State Auditor. Ms. Woodruff comments: "Yes, the audit was delayed. However, it’s important that the City takes the time to get it done right. I commend the Finance Department's hard work to take a prudent and methodical approach to address and clean up some long-standing issues that, honestly, go back decades. The City has implemented a new accounting system, while also designing new internal control procedures. All this has happened during the pandemic when the staff had to work remotely and experienced COVID-related absences.”

As a result of the City's sound fiscal management during the pandemic, the Finance Department is now realizing favorable budget adjustments at the close of Fiscal Year 2021 as the State, City, and County recover from the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. For the third consecutive month, Santa Fe’s Gross Taxable Receipts show significant year-over-year growth -- an indicator that the recovery from the pandemic-induced recession is gaining momentum. The April 2021 tax distribution from the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department to the City was a $4.1 million increase from April 2020. The continuing good financial news shows that the sacrifices everyone made during the pandemic in Santa Fe, and the resilience we showed, are paying off -- not just in terms of public health and safety, but in a robust recovery.

Read the Finance Department's Memorandum to the State Auditor's Office here