Mayor: Lake Zurich annual report worth reading

Despite the dry name "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report," Lake Zurich Mayor Thomas Poynton says there's some interesting information inside the 187-page document reviewed at Monday night's village board session.

The report not only has hard-core financial data, but also historical tidbits about Lake Zurich, information about its retail sales tax base and more.

Poynton complimented Finance Director Jodie Hartman and her staff for compiling an easy-to-read report. While there was some kidding about the 150 pages or so of numbers in the document, there is good information to be found for those interested in Lake Zurich government, he said.

"It's a great refresher document for the village board and anybody else who wants to know what we do, what the staff does," Poynton said.

Daniel Berg, a partner at Naperville-based Sikich LLP - a firm specializing in accounting, technology and advisory services - even suggested where readers can start their journey in the report.

"Definitely start with the management discussion and analysis that Jodie wrote that appears right after our opinion," Berg said.

Hartman wrote that Lake Zurich's combined revenues totaled $38.1 million in 2014-15, an increase of 7 percent from the previous budget year. Overall expenses were $35.1 million in 2014-15, up 6 percent from the preceding year.

Sikich issued a "clean" opinion for Lake Zurich's 2014-15 financial year that ended April 30.

In the introductory part of the annual financial report, readers can learn George Ela was one of the area's first settlers and that Lake Zurich was incorporated on Sept. 19, 1896. The document says Lake Zurich has a strong retail sales tax base that grew by 6 percent in the last fiscal season, in part from major retailers such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Costco.

Under the heading of major accomplishments and initiatives, Lake Zurich boasted of squeezing a $70,000 surplus from a budget that had been projected to run a $1.5 million deficit.

Poynton said he was pleased Sikich found Lake Zurich provides financial information to the public that's "significantly greater" than what's required under state law.

"We here in Lake Zurich have become a leader in transparency and innovative government," Poynton said.