The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada recognized Cortez for excellence in financial transparency following the city’s work to correct delinquent audits and end financial mismanagement.
“The decisions and actions of prior individuals jeopardized the trust of the community and represented a failure in financial stewardship,” Finance Director Randy Bailey said in a statement. “Receiving this award is a testament to the long hours and dedication shown by the current accounting team, Lynette Reece and Sara Coffey, and the prior finance directors that led early efforts to achieve this award.”
The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting commends the city’s 2024 financial report for its thoroughness and legal compliance. In 2021, the city hired City Manager Drew Sanders and then-Financial Director Kelly Koskie to improve the city’s financial practices following a previous financial director’s embezzlement of tens of thousands of dollars of city funds.
“We were brought in to correct our financial unwellness and get our audits into compliance and up to date,” Sanders said. “It took about 2½ years to do that.”
Sanders commended Koskie and City Council for their diligence in catching up on audits, instituting measures for transparency and establishing stronger internal controls. The checks and balances now in place help prevent future embezzlement, according to Sanders.
“Using what’s called separation of duties, when it comes to finances and everything else, how we handle our money – that reduces the risk significantly,” Sanders said.
Sanders pointed to the government’s use of ClearGov, an open website displaying the city’s budget, as a major step in being honest and clear with the city’s constituents about its finances.
“We’ve just been open. In fact, even tonight at our council meeting there is actually a financial update,” Sanders said, referencing Bailey’s quarterly report scheduled for the City Council meeting Tuesday evening.
The award does not assess the financial health of the city – which is currently debt-free – but it signifies to the investors, business partners and residents that the government aims for full financial disclosure.
“It just shows that our audits are what we would term as a single source of truth,” Sanders said.
The award, coming from a third party, lends the government more credibility in its positive assessment of its financial reports, enhancing trust between the city and its residents, Sanders said.
“It's not us saying so,” Sanders said. “It’s somebody else that says that we have independently verified that the city is transparent with our taxpayer dollars.”
The award also shows the city’s readiness if faced with an audit and could aid the city in securing lower interest rates if it ever needed to seek municipal debt, Sanders said.
While other Colorado cities have received the award dozens of times, this is Cortez’s first. Sanders said the city fell short of achieving the award for its 2023 report but received feedback from the Government Finance Officers Association that helped it secure the award for its 2024 report. Hopefully, he noted, this sets a precedent.
“We really hope to get this year-over-year,” Sanders said. “This is just an external manifestation that, hey, we’re doing it right.”
avanderveen@the-journal.com
