For the first time in three years, there is a reason to celebrate at Vero Beach City Hall. The City of Vero Beach has successfully met the Florida Auditor General’s strict June financial reporting deadlines, submitting its independent financial audit for the 2024-25 fiscal year right on schedule.
According to Councilman Aaron Vos, who closely monitored the auditing process, the completed report from the accounting firm Cherry Bekaert was delivered to the city on June 29. By the very next day, the required documents were officially off to the state.
“On June 30, Finance Director Lisa Burnham submitted all required documentation to the State of Florida, completing the city’s Fiscal Year 2025 independent financial audit by the required deadline,” stated Councilman Vos.
Vice Mayor Taylor Dingle and Councilman John Carroll have actively championed a return to routine quarterly financial reporting to better inform local management and spending choices. Last week, city leadership received the much-anticipated confirmation that the audit was successfully delivered.
Overall, the city received a largely clean audit, though the auditors did note one specific material weakness regarding internal financial controls. During the current fiscal year, management discovered that approximately $3.7 million in fiscal 2024 capital expenditures were improperly expensed as of September 30, 2024. To remedy the accounting error, the opening net position of the water and sewer fund and business-type activities were restated for October 1, 2024.
Finance Director Lisa Burnham addressed the finding head-on, attributing the issue to newer team members learning the complex closing procedures during the prior fiscal year. She assured the community and state auditors that her accounting team is continually improving its processes and internal controls to prevent future missteps. Furthermore, independent auditors confirmed that city staff remained in full compliance with all government investment policies.
To fully grasp the importance of this timely submission, one has to look at Vero Beach’s recent financial history:
- A Legacy of Excellence: For decades, Vero Beach consistently won awards for its financial reporting, maintaining stability with only five finance directors over its 106-year history.
- The Turning Point: Following the April 2023 retirement of longtime Finance Director Cindy Lawson, the city’s reporting timeline began to slip under her successor, Steve Dionne.
- State Intervention: After missing the June 2024 deadline, the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee sent a formal warning letter to Mayor John Cotugno. By February 2025, the city was placed on a state take-action list, resulting in Dionne’s departure.
- The Recovery: Lisa Burnham, a retired municipal accountant, stepped in as interim finance director in early 2025 and led the charge to get the city’s financial reporting back on track despite immense pressure and tight deadlines.
The previous delays carried a tangible cost for the local community. Vero Beach temporarily lost one month of optional sales tax funding in 2025 due to state enforcement measures—a loss fortunately covered by the city’s errors and omissions insurance. Additionally, late financial submissions delayed crucial state revenue sharing necessary for police and fire pensions. During those two years of auditing struggles, Vero Beach taxpayers absorbed more than $100,000 in interest penalties owed to the Police Pension Fund.
With the 2024-25 audit completed and submitted on time, local officials have secured a much brighter financial outlook for the months ahead. Because the necessary financial reporting is now in the hands of the Florida Department of Management Services, the City of Vero Beach is fully on track to receive its vital share of state-collected pension funding right on time this fall.
