HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025 Annual Financial Report
City of Livonia, Michigan
Required Supplementary Information
Budgetary Comparison Schedule – General Fund
Year Ended November 30, 2025
Variance with
Original BudgetFinal BudgetActual Final Budget
Revenue
Property Taxes $ 42,479,021$ 42,479,021$ 42,354,489$ (124,532)
Licenses and Permits
Business 188,800 188,800 192,950 4,150
3,038,500 3,038,500 3,329,744291,244
Nonbusiness
Total licenses and permits 3,227,300 3,227,300 3,522,694295,394
Intergovernmental Revenue
State and local 14,032,749 14,032,749 14,236,973 204,224
170,430 170,430 351,557181,127
Grants
Total intergovernmental revenue 14,203,179 14,203,179 14,588,530 385,351
Charges for Services 5,681,294 5,681,294 5,952,843271,549
Interest and Rents 3,749,574 3,749,574 3,882,262132,688
Fines and Forfeitures 3,517,386 3,517,386 3,589,553 72,167
Miscellaneous Revenue
Sale of fixed assets 100,000 100,000 146,501 46,501
2,009,198 2,009,198 1,166,496 (842,702)
Other miscellaneous
Total miscellaneous revenue 2,109,198 2,109,198 1,312,997 (796,201)
Total revenue$ 74,966,952$ 74,966,952$ 75,203,368$ 236,416
Expenditures
General Government
Legislative:
City Council$ 309,289$ 309,289$ 298,065$11,224
City Clerk 647,053 647,053 551,415 95,638
528,734 528,734 462,443 66,291
Elections
Total legislative 1,485,076 1,485,076 1,311,923173,153
Judicial 3,401,357 3,401,357 3,355,513 45,844
Executive - Mayor's office 606,896 606,896 558,890 48,006
Human resources:
Labor relations 82,500 82,500 38,841 43,659
995,360 995,360 849,129146,231
Civil service
Total human resources 1,077,860 1,077,860 887,970189,890
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City of Livonia, Michigan
Required Supplementary Information
Budgetary Comparison Schedule – General Fund (Continued)
Year Ended November 30, 2025
Variance with
Original BudgetFinal BudgetActual Final Budget
Expenditures (Continued)
General Government (Continued)
Financial administration:
Accounting$ 314,671$ 359,671$ 318,551$ 41,120
Assessing 735,315 735,315 719,500 15,815
Finance 552,058 552,058 570,881 (18,823)
Independent audit 60,239 60,239 74,755 (14,516)
Board of review 3,5453,545 2,993 552
Treasurer 687,898 687,898 631,079 56,819
1,459,651 1,384,843 1,370,806 14,037
Information systems
Total financial administration 3,813,377 3,783,569 3,688,565 95,004
Other activities:
Legal 926,919 926,919 907,919 19,000
Communications 434,555 434,555 446,795 (12,240)
Government affairs 131,958 131,958 127,291 4,667
Utilities and supplies 565,859 565,859 516,532 49,327
58,000 58,000 56,112 1,888
Dues and subscriptions
Total other activities 2,117,291 2,117,291 2,054,649 62,642
Total general government 12,501,857 12,472,049 11,857,510 614,539
Public Safety
Police:
Traffic bureau 1,345,440 1,336,968 1,246,816 90,152
Administration 3,050,501 3,100,610 2,960,339 140,271
Data processing 1,036,393 1,029,579 948,483 81,096
Detective bureau 3,595,720 3,595,720 3,655,504 (59,784)
Automotive service 621,150 624,150 700,913 (76,763)
Communications/Records bureau 1,022,504 1,022,504 825,313 197,191
Crossing guards 81,488 81,488 67,950 13,538
School liaison 614,391 614,391 607,945 6,446
Office of emergency preparedness 184,426 184,426 170,793 13,633
Reserve police 414,841 414,841 478,061 (63,220)
Patrol bureau 15,880,439 15,883,637 14,574,050 1,309,587
2,959,418 2,918,397 2,725,401 192,996
Intelligence bureau
Total police 30,806,711 30,806,711 28,961,568 1,845,143
Fire:
Administration 1,492,377 1,497,877 1,473,321 24,556
Firefighting 14,343,701 14,620,149 14,521,293 98,856
841,227 841,227 890,757 (49,530)
Fire prevention
Total fire 16,677,305 16,959,253 16,885,371 73,882
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City of Livonia, Michigan
Required Supplementary Information
Budgetary Comparison Schedule – General Fund (Continued)
Year Ended November 30, 2025
Variance with
Original BudgetFinal BudgetActual Final Budget
Expenditures (Continued)
Public Safety (Continued)
Protective inspection:
Building Code Board of Appeals$ 3,361$ 3,361$535 $ 2,826
1,866,838 1,866,838 1,682,003 184,835
Inspection
Total protective inspection 1,870,199 1,870,199 1,682,538 187,661
2,3532,353 1,599 754
Other protective - Traffic commission
Total public safety 49,356,568 49,638,516 47,531,076 2,107,440
Public Works
Public services - Highways, streets, and
maintenance:
Engineering 828 828 31,868 (31,040)
Parks maintenance 1,908,406 1,908,406 1,154,048 754,358
Administration 58,700 64,7008,722 55,978
Equipment maintenance 165,687 165,687 51,680 114,007
Building maintenance 1,915,979 1,915,979 2,451,565 (535,586)
Street lighting 280,467 280,467 271,933 8,534
193,566 559,251 (365,685)
199,566
Maintenance - Streets
Total public works 4,529,633 4,529,633 4,529,067 566
Parks and Recreation and Cultural
Parks and recreation:
Administration 345,656 340,656 312,250 28,406
Recreation facilities 55,700 81,812 77,607 4,205
212,592 212,992 198,451 14,541
Recreation athletics
Total parks and recreation 613,948 635,460 588,308 47,152
Cultural:
Senior services 590,713 590,213 605,406 (15,193)
1,145,144 1,145,644 980,331 165,313
Greenmead and cultural
Total cultural 1,735,857 1,735,857 1,585,737 150,120
Total parks and recreation and cultural 2,349,805 2,371,317 2,174,045 197,272
Community and Economic Development
City Planning Commission 672,512 672,512 587,134 85,378
46,972 46,972 44,309 2,663
Zoning Board of Appeals
Total community and economic
development 719,484 719,484 631,443 88,041
5,426,429 6,426,429 6,426,220 209
Employee Benefits, Insurance, and Other
Total expenditures$ 74,883,776$ 76,157,428$ 73,149,361$ 3,008,067
May 20, 2026
To the Honorable Mayor, Members of the City
Council, and Management
City of Livonia, Michigan
We have audited the financial statements of the City of Livonia, Michigan (the “City”) as of and for the year
ended November 30, 2025 and have issued our report thereon dated May 20, 2026. Professional standards
require that we provide you with the following information related to our audit, which is divided into the
following sections:
Section I - Required Communications with Those Charged with Governance
Section II - Other Recommendations and Related Information
Section III - Legislative and Informational Items
Section I includes information that we are required to communicate to those individuals charged with
governance. We will report this information annually to the mayor and members of the City Council.
Section II presents recommendations related to internal control, procedures, and other matters noted during
our current year audit. These comments are offered in the interest of helping the City in its efforts toward
continuous improvement, not just in the areas of internal control and accounting procedures, but also in
operational or administrative efficiency and effectiveness.
Section III contains updated legislative and informational items that we believe will be of interest to you.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the City’s staff for the cooperation and courtesy extended to
us during our audit. Their assistance and professionalism are invaluable.
This report is intended solely for the use of the mayor, members of the City Council, and management of
the City and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties.
We welcome any questions you may have regarding the following communications, and we would be willing
to discuss these or any other questions that you might have at your convenience.
Very truly yours,
Plante & Moran, PLLC
Keith Szymanski
Partner
Stephanie Atkinson
Manager
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Section I - Required Communications with Those Charged with Governance
Our Responsibility Under U.S. Generally Accepted Auditing Standards
As stated in our engagement letter dated January 5, 2026, our responsibility, as described by professional
standards, is to express an opinion about whether the financial statements prepared by management with
your oversight are fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted
accounting principles. Our audit of the financial statements does not relieve you or management of your
responsibilities. Our responsibility is to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable, but not absolute,
assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatement.
As part of our audit, we considered the internal control of the City. Such considerations were solely for the
purpose of determining our audit procedures and not to provide any assurance concerning such internal
control.
We are responsible for communicating significant matters related to the audit that are, in our professional
judgment, relevant to your responsibilities in overseeing the financial reporting process. However, we are
not required to design procedures specifically to identify such matters.
Our audit of the City’s financial statements has also been conducted in accordance with Government
Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Under Government Auditing
Standards, we are obligated to communicate certain matters that come to our attention related to our audit
to those responsible for the governance of the City, including compliance with certain provisions of laws,
regulations, contracts, and grant agreements; certain instances of error or fraud; illegal acts applicable to
government agencies; and significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
Toward this end, we issued a separate letter dated May 20, 2026 regarding our consideration of the City’s
internal control over financial reporting and on our tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws,
regulations, contracts, and grant agreements.
Planned Scope and Timing of the Audit
We performed the audit according to the planned scope and timing previously communicated to you in our
letter about planning matters dated March 9, 2026.
Significant Audit Findings
Qualitative Aspects of Accounting Practices
Management is responsible for the selection and use of appropriate accounting policies. In accordance with
the terms of our engagement letter, we will advise management about the appropriateness of accounting
policies and their application. The significant accounting policies used by the City are described in Note 1
to the financial statements.
During the year, the City implemented GASB Statement No. 101, Compensated Absences; however, the
new standard did not materially impact the City’s financial statements.
We noted no transactions entered into by the City during the year for which there is a lack of authoritative
guidance or consensus.
There are no significant transactions that have been recognized in the financial statements in a different
period than when the transaction occurred.
Accounting estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are
based on management’s knowledge and experience about past and current events and assumptions about
future events. Certain accounting estimates are particularly sensitive because of their significance to the
financial statements and because of the possibility that future events affecting them may differ significantly
from those expected. The most sensitive estimates affecting the financial statements were the value of the
alternative investments held by the City’s retirement system and VEBA and the net pension and OPEB
liabilities/assets.
2
Section I - Required Communications with Those Charged with Governance
(Continued)
Management has reported the alternative investments at amounts provided by the various funds. For a
sample of alternative investments, we obtained audited financial statements for the investment funds as of
December 31, 2024 and performed various procedures to evaluate the calculations and assumptions used
by fund management for the unaudited quarterly reports and member equity statements received since the
date of the audits. We also performed limited analytical procedures on the revenue and expenses reported
by funds from January 1, 2025 to November 30, 2025. We performed these procedures on the data used
by management to develop the estimate to determine that it is reasonable in relation to the financial
statements taken as a whole.
The net OPEB asset recorded is based on an actuarial valuation that includes significant assumptions
related to health care costs, projected salary increases, the length of time over which participants will
receive benefits, and future rates of return on investments. The net pension liabilities are based on actuarial
valuations performed that include significant assumptions related to life expectancies, projected salary
increases, and future rates of return on investments. Based on our review of the actuarial studies performed
in connection with these liabilities, we noted that the methods and assumptions used in the actuarial reports
are reasonable in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole.
The disclosures in the financial statements are neutral, consistent, and clear.
Difficulties Encountered in Performing the Audit
We encountered no significant difficulties in performing and completing our audit.
Disagreements with Management
For the purpose of this letter, professional standards define a disagreement with management as a financial
accounting, reporting, or auditing matter, whether or not resolved to our satisfaction, that could be significant
to the financial statements or the auditor’s report. We are pleased to report that no such disagreements
arose during the course of our audit.
Corrected and Uncorrected Misstatements
Professional standards require us to accumulate all known and likely misstatements identified during the
audit, other than those that are trivial, and communicate them to the appropriate level of management.
We identified one uncorrected misstatement to reduce General Fund and governmental activities
expenditures and record a prepaid asset for $317,108 related to the portion of an invoice paid in fiscal year
2025 for services to be received in fiscal year 2026. Management considers that item as well as the fact
that capital expenditures below the capitalization threshold are not capitalized, even when related items are
above the threshold in total, to be immaterial, both individually and in the aggregate, to the financial
statements taken as a whole. However, uncorrected misstatements or matters underlying those
uncorrected misstatements could potentially cause future period financial statements to be materially
misstated.
Significant Findings or Issues
We generally discuss a variety of matters, including the application of accounting principles and auditing
standards, business conditions affecting the City, and business plans and strategies that may affect the
risks of material misstatement, with management each year prior to our retention as the City’s auditors.
However, these discussions occurred in the normal course of our professional relationship, and our
responses were not a condition of our retention.
Management Representations
We have requested certain representations from management that are included in the management
representation letter dated May 20, 2026.
3
Section I - Required Communications with Those Charged with Governance
(Continued)
Management Consultations with Other Independent Accountants
In some cases, management may decide to consult with other accountants about auditing and accounting
matters, similar to obtaining a second opinion on certain situations. If a consultation involves application of
an accounting principle to the City’s financial statements or a determination of the type of auditor’s opinion
that may be expressed on those statements, our professional standards require the consulting accountant
to check with us to determine that the consultant has all the relevant facts. To our knowledge, there were
no such consultations with other accountants.
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Section II - Other Recommendations and Related Information
During our audit, we noted areas where we believe there are opportunities for the City to further strengthen
internal control or to increase operating efficiencies. Our observations on those areas are presented below
for your consideration:
General Fund
For the year ended November 30, 2025, General Fund fund balance increased by approximately $2.1
million as revenue exceeded expenditures. Actual spending in the General Fund was approximately $3.0
million less than the amended budget with police being significantly under budget. At the same time, actual
revenue in the General Fund was approximately $236,000 more than the amended budget. Overall results
were approximately $3.2 million better than what was called for in the amended budget. We commend the
City for continuing to maintain a sound financial position while keeping an eye toward legacy costs and
future capital needs.
Legacy Costs - Pension
Legacy costs and the funded status of plans continue to be an area of focus for local governments. The
City’s defined benefit pension system is 97 percent funded as of November 30, 2025 based on the GASB
Statement No. 68 actuarial valuation. The funded status is dependent on a number of assumptions (how
long participants live, investment performance, etc.).
For many years, employer contributions to the pension system were not actuarially required. In fiscal years
2012 through 2025, the City was required to make contributions to the defined benefit pension plan after
having gone without any required contributions since 2003. Total contributions between 2012 and 2023
were approximately $22.9 million. During fiscal year 2025, the City contributed the actuarially determined
amount of approximately $3.2 million.
In addition to the existing pension system, the Police and Fire Revised Retirement Plan was reported for
the first time in 2021. As of November 20, 2025, there were 207 participants in the plan and $18.3 million
in the trust. Required contributions for 2025 were $2.7 million.
As noted above, because there are a variety of factors that impact the calculation and estimates made by
the City’s actuary, future contributions by the City should be considered for budget and long-term financial
planning purposes.
Legacy Costs - Retiree Health Care
The City has been actuarially funding the liability associated with postemployment health care for many
years and, as a result, has been able to accumulate approximately $151.9 million in net position for these
costs as of November 30, 2025. Additionally, previous changes to benefits significantly reduced the total
OPEB liability and the annual contributions. The plan is 102 percent funded as of November 30, 2025.
During fiscal year 2025, the actuarily determined contribution for the VEBA was approximately $1.3 million,
and the City contributed $2.2 million. There were times when the actuarially determined contributions were
in excess of $7 million per year, but the City’s commitment to funding the obligation and the reduction in
benefit costs due to plan changes have generated significant savings in the City’s budget going forward.
Cable Television Fund
The Cable Television Fund has experienced a consistent decline in fund balance over the past several
years, decreasing from approximately $861,000 in 2021 to $70,000 in 2025. This decline is driven by a
combination of decreasing revenue and increasing expenditures. Revenue has fallen from $395,000 in
2021 to $312,000 in 2025, primarily due to a reduction in cable franchise fees. In contrast, expenditures
have increased from $453,000 in 2021 to $509,000 over the same period.
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Section II - Other Recommendations and Related Information
(Continued)
During the 2026 budget process, it was acknowledged that revenue has continued to decline. While the
City elected to maintain four full-time positions for 2026, a potential reduction in staffing was identified as a
consideration for future periods. Given the ongoing structural imbalance, we encourage the City to evaluate
cost containment measures, including the recommended staffing adjustments, as well as consider
reviewing the fee structure to better align revenue with expenditures and support a balanced budget.
Adjudicated Forfeitures Fund
As of the end of fiscal year 2025, the Adjudicated Forfeitures Fund had $3.2 million of fund balance. While
there are restrictions as to how these funds can be spend, we would like to remind the City these funds are
available to supplement the existing police spending.
Manual Journal Entries
The City processes a substantial volume of manual journal entries each month, which inherently carries a
higher risk of accounting errors. Due to the manual nature of these entries, designing effective and efficient
review controls to ensure accuracy can be challenging.
While the City has established review mechanisms, there may be an opportunity to reevaluate existing
controls and explore automation within the system to streamline transaction processing. Implementing
automated solutions could enhance accuracy, reduce manual workload, and improve overall efficiency in
financial reporting.
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Section III - Legislative and Informational Items
Cybersecurity and Information Technology Controls
Cyberattacks are on the rise across the globe, and the cost of these attacks is ever increasing. Because of
these attacks, municipalities stand to lose their reputation, the ability to operate efficiently, and proprietary
information or assets. Communities potentially can also be subject to financial and legal liabilities.
Managing this issue is especially challenging because even a municipality with a highly mature
cybersecurity risk management program still has a residual risk that a material cybersecurity breach could
occur and not be detected in a timely manner. We understand that the technology department continues
to monitor and evaluate this risk, which are critical best practices. Additionally, periodic assessment of the
system in order to verify that the control environment is working as intended is a key part of measuring
associated business risk. We encourage administration and those charged with governance to work with
the technology team on this very important topic. If we can be of assistance in the process, we would be
happy to do so.
Road Funding
In October 2025, the State passed a new Transportation Funding Package that took effect in the State’s
fiscal year 2026 and will continue through fiscal year 2030 and beyond. The package includes the following
four items that have an impact on local units:
Amendment to the Motor Fuel Tax Act to increase the motor fuel tax rate from 31 cents per gallon to at
least 51 cents per gallon beginning on January 1, 2026
Amendment to Act 51 to create the Neighborhood Roads Fund (NRF) and the Infrastructure Projects
Authority Fund and prescribe the distribution of money from each fund
Creation of a new act to impose excise taxes on certain sales or transfers of marijuana tax revenue
and deposit the revenue into the newly created NRF
Amendment to the Income Tax Act to, among other things, repeal the $600 million in income tax
revenue currently redirected to the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) and generate additional
revenue from the corporate income tax to the NRF
MTF distribution payments will continue monthly and will be separate from the NRF distribution payments.
Based on the Department of Treasury’s frequently asked questions for the NRF, it is anticipated that
the City will see a temporary decrease in monthly MTF distributions due to the repeal of the $600 million
redirection of income tax revenue to the MTF, and this decrease is anticipated to be resolved as
the NRF funding is distributed.
Further details of this Transportation Funding Package are available at https://www.michigan.gov/
mdot/-/media/Project/Websites/MDOT/Business/Local ȃ Government/Act ȃ 51/MTF ȃ Reports/New ȃ Revenue ȃ
Package/Letter ȃ tolocals.pdf?rev=0be839cf7c2c4484ae49164504b1c090&hash=B6C20F0935AF51A9A51
7D7262.
Capitalization Thresholds
The April 2024 Uniform Grants Guidance 2024 Revision described above resulted in the equipment
threshold increasing from $5,000 to $10,000. This threshold applies to the value of equipment that at the
end of the grant period may be retained, sold, or otherwise disposed of with no further responsibility to the
federal agency. In addition to considering this Uniform Guidance threshold related to federal grants
compliance, it may be a good time for the City to reevaluate the capitalization thresholds. We are happy to
assist you in thinking through considerations in evaluating these thresholds.
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Section III - Legislative and Informational Items
(Continued)
Upcoming Accounting Standards Requiring Preparation
We actively monitor new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards and due process
documents and provide periodic updates to help you understand how the latest financial reporting
developments will impact the City. In addition to the summaries below and to stay up to date, Plante &
Moran, PLLC issues a biannual GASB accounting standard update. The most recent update and a link to
previous fall and spring updates are available here.
GASB Statement No. 103 - Financial Reporting Model Improvements
This new accounting pronouncement will be effective for the City’s fiscal year ending November 30, 2026.
This statement establishes new accounting and financial reporting requirements, or modifies existing
requirements, related to the following: management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A); unusual or
infrequent items; presentation of the proprietary fund statement of revenue, expenses, and changes in fund
net position; information about major component units in basic financial statements; budgetary comparison
information; and financial trends information in the statistical section. This statement requires that
the MD&A be limited to the five topics noted in the standard and provides further guidance on how
the MD&A should be written. For proprietary fund financial reporting, the statement defines nonoperating
revenue and expense and introduces the concept of subsidies. It also requires new subtotals to present
total noncapital subsidies and income or loss, including both operating activities and noncapital subsidies.
The statement prescribes that the required budgetary comparison schedules be reported only in the
required supplementary information section of the statements and dictates what variance information
should be included. Next, the statement removes the option to present discretely presented component unit
information as condensed information in the notes rather than in the statements. Lastly, the statement
outlines how unusual or infrequent items should be presented separately on the financial statements.
GASB Statement No. 104 - Disclosure of Certain Capital Assets
This new accounting pronouncement, which will be effective for the City’s fiscal year ending November 30,
2026, requires certain types of capital assets, such as lease assets, intangible right-of-use assets,
subscription assets, and other intangible assets, to be disclosed separately by major class of underlying
asset in the capital assets note. The statement also requires additional disclosures for capital assets held
for sale.
GASB Statement No. 105 - Subsequent Events
This new standard defines subsequent events as transactions that occur after the date of the financial
statements but before the financial statements are available to be issued. This statement clarifies the
subsequent events that constitute recognized and unrecognized events and establishes specific note
disclosure requirements for nonrecognized events. The provisions of this statement are effective for the
City's fiscal year ending November 30, 2027.
Significant GASB Proposal Worth Watching
The Revenue and Expense Recognition project aims to develop a comprehensive accounting and financial
reporting model for transactions that result in revenue and expenses. The GASB has issued a preliminary
views document that proposes a new categorization framework that replaces the exchange/nonexchange
transaction notion with a four-step categorization process for classifying a transaction. In addition to this
new framework, the proposal also addresses recognition and measurement of revenue and expense
transactions. The exposure draft for this project is expected in two phases - one in early 2027 and another
in 2028.
Plante & Moran, PLLC has spent significant time digesting this new proposed standard and testified to the
GASB about our feedback. We strongly encourage the City to monitor developments with this standard, as
the potential impact is quite broad.
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