VERO BEACH — City of Vero Beach officials have been put on notice by state auditors for the second straight year after missing a key deadline to file the municipality’s annual financial report.
The Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee sent a non-compliance letter last week to Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno, warning that enforcement actions could follow if the city doesn’t submit its 2023-24 fiscal year audit and financial statements—or at least a written explanation—by Nov. 17.
The report was originally due June 30, marking the second consecutive delinquency for Vero Beach.
City Councilman Aaron Vos, in a recent email update to constituents, noted that Finance Director Lisa Burnham had submitted most required documentation to the independent auditor, Cherry Bekaert, as of Sept. 16. Vos added that the firm had been working on-site at City Hall through August and September, with audit director Jeff Zeichner indicating they were “on track” to issue the statements by month’s end.
The latest warning echoes troubles from the previous year, when the 2022-23 audit was filed nearly 11 months late this spring. In October 2024, the auditing committee issued a similar notice, but city officials failed to respond, according to records.
Potential consequences include withheld state revenues, a penalty the city has already faced.
Vero Beach already forfeited about $133,000 in sales tax funds, though much of that was offset by errors and omissions insurance. The Sept. 18 letter from the committee emphasized that it plans to meet later this year to address non-compliant municipalities.
The delays have also impacted the city’s police and fire pension funds. Reports on the spending and investments of those funds for the 2023-24 fiscal year were due on March 15, and the outstanding audit is required for compliance with the Florida Department of Management Services.
Last week, the police pension fund’s managers, Foster and Foster, received a notice from the department withholding $342,274 in 2024 premium tax revenues until the issues are resolved. If not cleared by Sept. 30, the city would have to cover any resulting shortfall.
This isn’t the first financial hiccup tied to the delays. In April, the city paid its police pension fund more than $125,000 in interest for late deposits resulting from errors in the finance department.
Earlier this year, a state panel denied Vero Beach’s request for an audit extension in July, and local residents formed an independent task force in March to monitor the process and safeguard grant funding after the previous year’s missed deadline.
