By Joseph M. Morgan

RAINSVILLE, Ala.—The city of Rainsville recently conducted an independent audit of city finances that reported a budget surplus of $161,547 for the 2015 fiscal year (FY2015).

The Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm Grant, Croft and Associates, P.C. (GCA) conducted the outside audit. The FY2015 budget for the city of Rainsville was reported at $3,847,600. GCA’s audit of city finances reported total city revenues for FY2015 of $4,081,674.

Rainsville Mayor Nick Jones said the city brings in an outside auditor each year to provide citizens with an impartial, transparent report of how their tax dollars are being spent.

“Making sure we are good stewards of city finances is something I take very seriously,” Rainsville Mayor Nick Jones said. “The people of Rainsville have placed their faith and trust in us as city leaders to spend and invest their money wisely. I remain committed to that principle. I will continue to make sure that every dollar is accounted for and do all that I can within this body to rein in and prevent unnecessary or unwise spending.”

The city’s total revenues increased by $312,832—a 5.6 percent increase for FY2015.

“One of the things that I think is a great asset to this city is how our revenues have grown even above what we originally budgeted,” Rainsville City Councilman Joey Graham said. "We originally budgeted $3,847,600 in revenues. This year that revenue stream went over $4 million. That is $166,000 above and beyond what we budgeted for.”

Stay tuned later this week for a more comprehensive analysis of Rainsville's FY2015 audit that will appear in our print edition on Friday.