#CLEDocsAnswers: Why are the budget numbers reported as unaudited?
This marks the first installment of Cleveland Documenters’ #CLEDocsAnswers series. After attending and documenting Cleveland and Cuyahoga County meetings, Documenters share their follow-up questions. #CLEDocsAnswers is Cleveland Documenters’ effort to answer those questions.
Documenter Seanna Jackson (@seandene on Twitter) was one of many #CLEDocumenters who attended Cleveland City Council’s budget hearings in February. In addition to her notes, Seanna had some excellent follow-up questions, two of which we got answers to. She asked, “Why are the budget numbers reported as unaudited? Why are audits not performed before a budget?”
Seanna’s question was about the unaudited 2020 budget numbers seen in the 2021 Mayor’s Estimate, the city’s proposed budget.
Audits won’t be completed until this summer, according to Gregory Cordek, manager of the Office of Budget and Management. He said “unaudited” doesn’t translate to “inaccurate.” Cordek said that people can read the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) later in the year to see audited 2020 budget numbers.
The city has issued the last seven audit reports in the summer. You can access them on the city website, and you can read Seanna’s full notes on the Feb. 22 budget hearing here.
Follow us on Twitter for more #CLEDocsAnswers. In the meantime, you can find all notes and live-tweet threads about local government meetings on our website.
