SALAMANCA — After three years without casino compact revenue from New York state and the Seneca Nation, the city still received a positive audit from a Buffalo accounting firm for its last financial year.

Luke Malecki, of Drescher and Malecki LLP, said last week the firm’s findings in the April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, audit of the city, although not completed, anticipate providing the city with a clean opinion — or an unmodified opinion — which is a positive review.

One positive change for this year is the state’s decision to forward the city about $4.7 million of the money it would receive from the casino once the compact issue is resolved. This loan has helped the city pay its bills without dipping further into the decreasing reserve funds.

“Every year since the compact aid was withdrawn, we’ve had to evaluate you as a going concern,” Malecki explained. “This year, with the influx of money from the state … we were able to alleviate that concern once again.”

In the audit, Drescher and Malecki would provide basic financial statements, a management letter and auditor communications to the council.

One item unique to the city, Malecki said, is a long-term receivable line for delinquent taxes in the fund balance. He said that’s considered a non-spendable item that doesn’t affect what’s available to get through next year.

Since 2017, the city’s unassigned portion of its fund balance has dropped from about $16.9 million to $5.6 million to make up for the lack of casino revenue payments from the state. At the same time, the city’s committed portion of the fund balance had to grow from near nonexistent in 2017 to $5 million in 2018, $4.7 million in 2019 and $4.9 million in 2020.

“That difficulty is going to stay as long as there’s no settlement guaranteeing that revenue,” Malecki said. “Based on what we know right now, you’re going to eat into that fund balance a little more in 2020-21, certainly an err in caution.”

While the city’s budget has remained around $8 million for the past four years, the revenues and transfer ins dropped from over $12 million in 2016 to a low of about $4 million in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, revenues were $8.7 million compared to $8.6 million in expenditures.

“When you look at the total revenues, and you compare what you planned to get, which was $5.3 million, and what you actually got, which was $8.7 million, you got about $3.5 million more than what you thought, and those were really the two payments the state distributed,” Malecki explained.

In the management letter, there was a recommendation to formalize some IT procedures and policies dealing with backups, cybersecurity and data security. A recommendation to the Board of Public Utilities to formalize some policies and procedures was also made.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, the Common Council approved the creation of two part-time building attendant positions to monitor city hall’s front entry during business hours during the pandemic.

The two shifts would work a total 20 hours per week at $11.70 an hour.

Tamaycha Arce, who has been monitoring the front entrance since city hall reopened, was hired as one of the two attendants. Arce’s position was previously paid for with a workshare program due to the pandemic.

It was noted that the positions will only last until the governor lifts New York’s state of emergency due to the pandemic coming to an end.