The Newport City Council met Thursday, July 15 at 5:30 p.m in city hall. Prominent on the night’s agenda was the annual audit, with Newport receiving a clean audit opinion from L.B. Carlson, representative Jim Eichten making the presentation. The city ended 2025 with its overall financial position substantially improved, even as it continued spending heavily on infrastructure projects and prepared to borrow for portions of its street and utility improvements.
Eichten reported that the city’s overall equity position increased by approximately $5 million during the year, from about $30 million to $35 million.
The city received an unmodified opinion on its financial statements, which the auditor described as the clean, positive opinion the city was seeking. The audit included two recurring reportable conditions related largely to Newport’s relatively small staff and one legal compliance finding involving the late filing of an unclaimed property report.
The two reportable conditions involved limited segregation of financial duties and LB Carlson’s assistance in preparing the city’s annual financial statements. The auditor said neither required corrective action and noted that compensating controls are in place.
Council Member Bill Sumner asked whether those conditions were common among smaller municipalities.
“Every small city has one,” the auditor responded. “I can’t think of one that doesn’t.”
Mayor Laurie Elliott said smaller cities generally do not have enough employees to fully separate every financial responsibility. The auditor added that council oversight itself serves as one of the city’s compensating controls.
The single compliance finding concerned the city’s annual unclaimed property report to the State of Minnesota.