Weymouth Council Accepts FY2021 Audit, Flags Retirement Board Reporting Lag

WEYMOUTH -- February 6, 2023, Weymouth Town Council unanimously accepted a delayed FY2021 audit showing a $13.9 million unassigned fund balance while warning that late filings from the Weymouth Contributory Retirement Board are jeopardizing the town's bond reporting and federal grant funding. Scott McIntyre, audit partner at Melanson, told the 11-member council that the town's books were "in good working order" with no significant audit adjustments required, but said the audit arrived roughly a year late because the retirement board's former CPA firm, O'Connor and Drew, was slow to complete reconciliations and delivered a journal entry exceeding $700,000 near year-end. Town Auditor Brian Conley said the delay has prompted repeated inquiries from bond advisor First Southwest and has held up the town's Community Development Block Grant reporting to HUD, putting an estimated $740,000 in federal funding at risk of cash-flow interruption. Vice President Hugh Mullis said the council would summon Retirement Board Director Ed Masterson, who was invited Monday but canceled that afternoon, to a future Budget Management Committee session to address the timeline and the unresolved journal entry.