The Village of Park Forest held its Special and Regular Meeting on Monday night at Village Hall. The meeting included a presentation of the Village's annual audit report.
Representatives from the auditing firm Sikich CPA LLC presented the audit reports for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024 (FY 23-24). The audit was led by the Finance Department; however, it included all departments and the Park Forest Board of Trustees.
Sikich published a report exceeding 200 pages, confirming that "the Village is in sound financial condition." The report highlights that the Village of Park Forest offers an "unusually high level of service" to its residents.
These services encompass Fire, Police, Public Works—which includes water pumping, purification, and distribution—Community Development, a Housing Authority, Economic Development, and Recreation and Parks. Additionally, the Village operates a total of seven enterprise funds: a swimming pool complex, a tennis and health club, refuse collection, water, sewer, the DownTown as well as a municipal commuter parking lot. Sikich also noted that the Health Department was sunset in June 2018, describing this move as "a testament to the Village’s strategic planning goal of assessing core versus non-core services."
A representative from Sikich explained that the Village has been recognized for its financial transparency. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded the Village of Park Forest the Distinguished Budget Award for every fiscal year from 1995-1996 through 2024-2025. This represents a 30-year streak, with the Village having received the award two additional times earlier in the 1990s, totaling 32 budget awards.
Park Forest submitted this audit to the GFOA in hopes of receiving the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting award (COA) for the 29th consecutive time. To qualify for this distinction, the audit report must be an easily-readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report whose contents conform to program standards. Such annual financial reports must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and applicable legal requirements.
To learn more about the FY23-24 audit, click here.