Nome utility manager says audit delays likely raised fuel loan rate

Nome ratepayers may be paying for paperwork the Nome Joint Utility System has not produced: board member Karl Emmons wondered aloud Tuesday whether the utility's unfinished audits and years of catch-up bookkeeping were costing ratepayers more, saying it "falls directly on us." The utility manager said interest rates on the utility's annual fuel loan are probably higher because of the delays, though pursuing tax-exempt financing again pushed them back down.

Emmons moved to take up the audits and the budget in open session rather than executive session, saying the community was curious about the delays and the board should discuss them publicly. The board approved the amended agenda by roll call. "I mean, it's been 5 years, guys. Let's have it. You know, we don't even have a budget now," Emmons said.

The City of Nome's fiscal 2024 audited financial statements show that NJUS was excluded from the city's audit. Emmons said the 2021 audit is complete and the outside accountant is ready to present it, that 2022 needs finalization and that 2023 was planned for this week; the accountant's written update said 2023 still awaits a final trial balance, credit card expense allocation and samples, and that little documentation has come in for 2024. Management cited staffing gaps, saying the short-handed utility made sure bills and employees were paid while staff sorted general ledger entries.

"We started out with an estimate from BDO that our audits would all be done in the first part of July. Now we'll be lucky to get them by the first of the year," Emmons said, arguing the board should hire out the work: "There's a whole bunch of people out there that are in the accounting business. We could hire somebody to put a budget together."

The manager said a budget does not require finished audits and promised one by week's end. Last year's fuel loan is paid off; this year's tax-exempt financing, discussed with the bank since about May, has not closed but is ready any day, with the price taking about three weeks to obtain. The board chair said a 2022 audit is not enough in 2026 and that fixing the pattern falls on the board.