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Ashland gets clean financial report for 2022 By Morgan Rothborne Updated: Dec 21, 2022 05:18 PM A A Flags are on display at the City of Ashland Council Chambers building. {Mail Tribune/file photo] Ashland City Council received a clean bill of financial health for 2022 Tuesday night, but it wavered on accepting the annual fiscal report over a concern the large document was going on to the state unscrutinized. Councilors Gina DuQuenne and Tonya Graham asked for a discussion and a potential delay in voting on the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, due to lack of time to give it a close read. Amanda McCleary-Moore, a public accountant representing Moss-Adams, was called to the microphone to give the council a presentation on the report and explain what would happen if they decided to withhold it from the state for further scrutiny and discussion. “Our goal was to issue our audit on time, so you can file with the state on Dec. 31, when it’s due,” McCleary-Moore said. Moss-Adams Assurance Services issued an unmodified, clean opinion for the city of Ashland’s finances for the fiscal year 2022. This means, she explained, that at no point in the firm’s study of Ashland’s various finances ... did they find errors or discrepancies in the city’s financial reporting. DuQuenne said she had not had enough time and could not pass along something that would financially affect the people of Ashland. Councilor Stephen Jensen asked McCleary-Moore for clarity about what councilors were voting for. “I completed my audit, my audit is done, so you have my reports. I guess if you don’t accept them, I don’t know what that means — you don’t file with the state, you go out of compliance. I don’t know what that means, I’ve never had that happen,” McCleary-Moore said. Graham commented that a Google search on her phone yielded the likely penalty for not filing the report — the state of Oregon could start withholding goods and services. The council voted to accept the report, with DuQuenne voting no. Councilor Sean Moran was absent. Councilors also discussed potentially receiving such reports with more time for study and asking accountants to distill the reports into smaller documents written in more accessible language. City Manager Joe Lessard was directed to schedule the report for a future study session discussion. The Dec. 20 meeting was the last of the year and the final meeting for councilors Stephen Jensen and Stefani Seffinger. Both councilors were presented with plaques in appreciation of their service. Councilors emeritus Dennis Slattery and Rich Rosenthal attended the meeting to speak in gratitude for the councilors. “You’re my hero and my spirit animal,” Rosenthal said of Stefani Seffinger. “You’re Ashland’s most interesting man,” he said of Jensen. Seffinger was content to look back on her many years of service for Ashland, but she also offered a message of encouragement for the new council. “My hope for this council for the future is for everyone to provide the example they would hope for their kids. C’mon you guys, let’s make our kids proud of how we work together,” she said. Jensen encouraged the new council to always seek to stand for the powerless — and to ensure the technology in council chambers is functional. In other council business Tuesday, councilors unanimously approved a pair of contracts to begin construction on the Ashland Airport taxiway reconstruction project. Knife River Materials offered the city of Ashland the best bid for the construction phase of the project while Century West Engineering was chosen for personal services. With the council’s approval, the city can enter into contracts with both firms, Public Works Director Scott Fleury explained. Knife River Materials quoted a project cost of $2,604,807.75 while Century West Engineering quoted the price tag of $348,577.64 for its services, according to meeting materials. Ashland has already accepted a Federal Aviation Administration grant that will cover nearly all of the $2 million cost for the project and an additional grant from the state of Oregon — the Critical Oregon Airport Relief grant — to cover most of the remaining cost, Fleury said. The council also unanimously approved the annexation of 16.86 acres located at 1511 Highway 99 North, 6.6 acres of adjacent Oregon Department of Transportation state highway right of way and 7.68 acres of California Oregon & Pacific Railroad property. The annexation paves the way for construction of the Grand Terrace apartment complex by developer Bob Kendrick. Seffinger smiled and threw her arms in the air to call the meeting to conclusion for the last time. Reach Mail Tribune reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected] or 541-776-4487. Follow her on Twitter @MRothborne.