VERO BEACH, Fla. — In response to the city of Vero Beach missing a crucial audit deadline, local citizens have formed an independent task force to ensure the city gets its finances back on track and safeguards millions of dollars in grant funding.
The city failed to submit its 2022-2023 audit to the state on time, putting $30 million in grants at risk. The delayed audit also led to the resignation of the city’s finance director.
WATCH: Task force to oversee missed city audit
Now, the Taxpayers Association of Indian River County has launched a task force to independently assess the situation and hold the city accountable.
“It will be independent from me as the president,” said Lance Lunceford, president of the Taxpayers Association. “It will make its assessment on the current audit situation, making sure they get back on track from a citizens oversight prospective, determining the precise nature of losses and penalties, and ultimately recommending to our board at one point if we should help in retaining the state funding that the city has been given.”
The funding Lunceford referred to includes $30 million the city accumulated in grants over the past year, which could face delays due to the late audit. Additionally, the city recently received another $11.3 million from the governor, specifically tied to water restoration projects.
WATCH: Finance director forced to resign
City Leaders Respond
Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno supports the task force’s efforts, saying the extra oversight will be beneficial.
“I think it’s always good to get an extra set of both eyes and hands to take a look at it,” Cotugno said.
Lunceford expressed frustration over the audit mishap, calling it unprecedented for the county.
“Disappointment, certainly. When a mistake of this magnitude happens in your city, it’s really unprecedented in Indian River County,” he said.
However, Cotugno downplayed concerns about losing grant money entirely, saying the funds are more likely to be delayed than revoked.
“Other grants we received may be delayed, and the keyword here is delayed,” he explained.
Despite the audit setback, Cotugno reassured residents that the city’s financial standing remains strong.
“The city has plenty of allocated reserves, and has plenty of operating cash, capital accounts are full, we’re operating as usual,” he said.
Audit Completion Timeline
When it comes to the overdue audit, Cotugno says city officials are committed to finalizing it by mid-May.
“It’s supposed to be the 12th of May, that’s our commitment,” Cotugno said. “With my contact with the auditor, I get an update from the auditor partner every week, and they said the latest update, which was last Friday, on target for actually the end of April.”
Lunceford says completing the audit by then would be a significant step in restoring public confidence.
“If they were to get this completed by the end of April, that would be fantastic news, and I think it would inspire a lot of confidence from the public,” he said.
Accountability Moving Forward
During a recent public meeting, city council members discussed whether the city manager should be held accountable for the missed audit deadline.
However, Cotugno says the blame falls on the former finance director, who resigned following the incident.
The task force plans to remain in place until the audit is submitted, and the city’s financial stability is confirmed.
