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February 9, 2023
To the Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of Santa Monica, California
We have audited the financial statements of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the City of Santa Monica, California (the City) for the year ended June 30, 2022. Professional standards require that we provide you with information about our responsibilities under generally accepted auditing standards, Government Auditing Standards, and the Uniform Guidance, as well as certain information related to the planned scope and timing of our audit. We have communicated such information in our letter to you dated April 27, 2022. Professional standards also require that we communicate to you the following information related to our audit.
Significant Audit Matters
Qualitative Aspects of Significant Accounting Practices Management is responsible for the selection and use of appropriate accounting policies. The significant accounting policies used by the City are described in Note 1 to the financial statements. As described in Note 3 to the financial statements, the City changed accounting policies related to accounting for leases by adopting Statement of Governmental Accounting Standards (GASB Statement) No. 87, Leases, in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. Accordingly, the cumulative effect of the accounting change as of the beginning of the year is reported in the statement of activities. We noted no transactions entered into by the City during the year for which there is a lack of authoritative guidance or consensus. All significant transactions have been recognized in the financial statements in the proper period.
Accounting estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are based on management’s knowledge and experience about past and current events and assumptions about future events. Certain accounting estimates are particularly sensitive because of their significance to the financial statements and because of the possibility that future events affecting them may differ significantly from those expected. The most sensitive estimates affecting the City’s financial statements were:
Management’s estimates of its net pension liability, net other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liability, and self-insurance liability are based on actuarial valuation specialist assumptions. We evaluated the key factors and assumptions used to develop the net pension liability, net OPEB liability, and self-insurance liability in determining that they are reasonable in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole.
Certain financial statement disclosures are particularly sensitive because of their significance to financial statement users. The most sensitive disclosure affecting the financial statements was:
To the Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of Santa Monica, California
The disclosure regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic in Note 19 to the financial statements describes the ongoing effect the pandemic is having on the City and the Federal coronavirus emergency acts funding the City has received in response to mitigate the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic.
The financial statement disclosures are neutral, consistent, and clear.
Significant or Unusual Transactions
During our audit, we identified the following significant transactions entered into by the City.
On August 4, 2021, the City issued $64,780,000 in Lease Revenue Bonds for the City Yards Modernization Project. These bonds bear interest ranging from 2.125% to 5.00% with a final maturity of July 1, 2051.
Additionally, on August 25, 2021, the City issued $70,525,000 in Water Revenue Bonds to fund the construction of various water projects. These bonds bear interest ranging from 2.25% to 5.00% with a final maturity of August 1, 2051.
Difficulties Encountered in Performing the Audit
We encountered no significant difficulties in dealing with management in performing and completing our audit.
Corrected and Uncorrected Misstatements
Professional standards require us to accumulate all known and likely misstatements identified during the audit, other than those that are trivial, and communicate them to the appropriate level of management.
Management has corrected all such misstatements. In addition, none of the misstatements detected as a result of audit procedures and corrected by management were material, either individually or in the aggregate, to the financial statements taken as a whole.
Disagreements with Management
For purposes of this letter, a disagreement with management is a financial accounting, reporting, or auditing matter, whether or not resolved to our satisfaction, that could be significant to the financial statements or the auditor’s report. We are pleased to report that no such disagreements arose during the course of our audit.
Management Representations
We have requested certain representations from management that are included in the management representation letter dated February 9, 2023.
Management Consultations with Other Independent Accountants In some cases, management may decide to consult with other accountants about auditing and accounting matters, similar to obtaining a “second opinion” on certain situations. If a consultation involves application of an accounting principle to the City’s financial statements or a determination of the type of auditor’s opinion that may be expressed on those statements, our professional standards require the consulting accountant to check with us to determine that the consultant has all the relevant facts. To our knowledge, there were no such consultations with other accountants.
To the Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of Santa Monica, California
Other Audit Findings or Issues
We generally discuss a variety of matters, including the significant events or transactions that occurred during the year, business conditions affecting the City and business plans and strategies that may affect the risks of material misstatements, the application of accounting principles and auditing standards, with management each year prior to retention as the City’s auditors. However, these discussions occurred in the normal course of our professional relationship and our responses were not a condition to our retention.
Other Matters
We applied certain limited procedures to Management’s Discussion and Analysis; the Schedules of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balance – Budget and Actual for the General Fund, Special Revenue Source Fund, Miscellaneous Grants Fund, and Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund; the Schedules of Changes in the Net Pension Liability and Related Ratios; the Schedules of Contributions for the Pension Plans and OPEB; and the Schedule of Changes in the Net OPEB Liability and Related Ratios which are required supplementary information (RSI) that supplements the basic financial statements. Our procedures consisted of inquiries of management regarding the methods of preparing the information and comparing the information for consistency with management’s responses to our inquiries, the basic financial statements, and other knowledge we obtained during our audit of the basic financial statements. We did not audit the RSI and do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the RSI.
We were engaged to report on the combining and individual fund statements and schedules, which accompany the financial statements but are not RSI. With respect to this supplementary information, we made certain inquiries of management and evaluated the form, content, and methods of preparing the information to determine that the information complies with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, the method of preparing it has not changed from the prior period, and the information is appropriate and complete in relation to our audit of the financial statements. We compared and reconciled the supplementary information to the underlying accounting records used to prepare the financial statements or to the financial statements themselves.
We were not engaged to report on the introductory or statistical sections of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which accompany the financial statements but are not RSI. Such information has not been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the basic financial statements, and accordingly, we do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on it.
The following new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncements were effective for fiscal year 2021-2022 audit:
GASB Statement No. 87, Leases.
GASB Statement No. 89, Accounting for Interest Cost Incurred before the End of a Construction Period.
GASB Statement No. 97, Certain Component Unit Criteria, and Accounting and Financial Reporting for Internal Revenue Code Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plans.
The following GASB pronouncements are effective in the following fiscal years’ audits and should be reviewed for proper implementation by management:
Fiscal year 2023
GASB Statement No. 91, Conduit Debt Obligations.
GASB Statement No. 94, Public-Private and Public-Public Partnerships and Availability Payment Arrangement.
GASB Statement No. 96, Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements.
To the Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of Santa Monica, California
Fiscal year 2024
GASB Statement No. 99, Omnibus 2022.
GASB Statement No. 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections.
Fiscal year 2025
GASB Statement No. 101, Compensated Absences.
Restriction on Use
This information is intended solely for the use of City Council and management of the City and is not intended to be, and should not be, used by anyone other than these specified parties.
Very truly yours,
Brea, California