The Sundown City Council approved their annual audit along with multiple interlocal agreements during their monthly regular meeting for February.
During the action item portion of the meeting, the Council was presented the annual audit that was provided by CMMS CPAs and Advisors PLLC. During the presentation, the City received an unqualified opinion.
An unqualified opinion is considered the 'clean' audit report, meaning no material issues were found and the financial statements are presented fairly.
For reference there are other opinions that could be given such as “qualified” or “adverse” opinions.
A qualified opinion in a city audit means that the auditor has found issues with the city's financial statements, but they are not pervasive enough to warrant an 'adverse opinion,' indicating that while there are concerns, the overall financial picture is still considered reliable, with specific exceptions noted in the audit report; essentially, the auditor is saying 'the financial statements are okay except for...' regarding a particular area of concern. : A reason for a qualified opinion could occur when the city did not follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in certain areas, or when the auditor could not obtain sufficient evidence to fully verify specific financial transactions due to limitations in access or documentation.
While not as severe as an adverse opinion, a qualified opinion can still raise concerns for investors, lenders, and oversight bodies as it indicates potential areas of financial weakness that need to be addressed.
When issuing a qualified opinion, the auditor will clearly state the specific reasons for the qualification in the audit report, outlining the nature of the issue and its potential impact on the financial statements.
An adverse opinion indicates that the auditor found significant misstatements in the financial statements, meaning the overall financial picture is not considered reliable.
Also, a disclaimer of opinion could be issued when the auditor was unable to gather enough evidence to form an opinion on the financial statements due to severe limitations.
Following the presentation of the audit, the Council approved the audit.
Next, the Council approved a Hockley County 2025 Interlocal Agreement for street maintenance and fire service which is a yearly occurrence.
Representatives with SPAG (South Plains Association of Governments) were in attendance as the group considered the approval of an interlocal agreement with the organization for application development services for the 2025-26 TxCDBG Downtown Revitalization Program (DRP).
City Administrator Billy Hernandez explained to Council that there are always conversations regarding grants and projects. With those conversations, SPAG was invited to attend the meeting, provide a presentation and answer any questions.
SPAG is a voluntary association created by the local governments within state planning region two. Authorized by state law, SPAG is an independent political subdivision of the state and is an instrument of local governments. It is one of 24 such organizations in Texas.
The SPAG planning region, delineated by the Governor, encompasses 15 counties covering 13,737 square miles. Approximately 60% of the region’s population is located in Lubbock County, which is geographically centered in the region. The economy is dominated by agriculture, agribusiness, and service industries.
Any local government in the 15-county area is eligible for membership in the association. All 15 counties, 46 cities, and 9 special purpose districts are participating members of SPAG..
Recognizing that more can be accomplished by acting together rather than alone, local governments created their association as a service organization for themselves. SPAG is charged with representing the interests of local governments of the region and facilitating orderly development of the economic, social, and physical environment. Acting through SPAG, local governments create opportunities based upon local needs and preferences.
Following the presentation, the group approved the interlocal agreement. The Council also approved Resolution No. 183 which allows the council to adopt policies in connection with the TxCDBG grant.
Hernandez explained to the group that the policies were a simple update requested by the organization.
Sundown Police Chief Jeff Foster provided the department's Racial Profiling Analysis Report. The report requires the collection of information relating to motor vehicle stops in which a warning or citation is issued and arrests made as a result of those stops.
This also included information relating to: the race or ethnicity of the individual detained; whether a search was conducted and, if so, whether the individual detained consented to the search; whether the peace officer knew the race or ethnicity of the individual detained before detaining that individual; whether the peace officer used physical force that resulted in bodily injury during the stop; the location of the stop; and the reason for the stop.
There were a total of 44 traffic stops. All 44 stops were conducted on city streets.
There were 43 traffic stops where the race of the individual was not known prior to the stop and one traffic stop where the race was known prior to the stop.
Under race and ethnicity, there were 23 traffic stops categorized as Hispanic or Latino, 20 traffic stops categorized as White, and one traffic stop categorized as Black.
By gender, there were 18 traffic stops in the female category and 26 traffic stops categorized as males.
Eight of the female traffic stops were White and 10 were Hispanic or Latino. Thirteen of the male traffic stops were Hispanic or Latino, 12 were White and one was Black.
There was one traffic stop due to violation of law and was categorized as White.
There were 43 moving violation stops. There were 23 categorized as Hispanic or Latino, 19 were categorized as White and one was categorized as Black.
In all 44 instances, there were no searches conducted.
There was one verbal warning as a result of a stop categorized as Black. Thirty-two written warnings were given with 17 instances categorized as Hispanic or Latino and 15 instances categorized as White. Eleven citations were given with six instances categorized as Hispanic or Latino, four instances categorized as White, and one instance categorized as Black.
Wrapping up the report, all 44 instances did not result in physical force being used.
During the department updates, Chief Foster stated the department responded to several calls for service for January. Those calls included medical and fire calls as the department assisted the City of Sundown Volunteer Fire Department (Sundown VFD) and Levelland EMS.
Foster added that the month had been fairly busy in regard to funeral escorts and shared the department's condolences to those who lost loved ones during the past month.
The department also assisted DPS (Department of Public Safety) regarding a stolen vehicle and assisted the Lubbock Police Department regarding a stolen firearm and a runaway.
Foster received a theft-inprogress call at a local business where the suspect was identified as a juvenile. A parent was contacted.
Upon arrival of the parent, the juvenile suspect was found to have stolen items concealed in a backpack. The items were returned to the store, and the juvenile was issued a criminal trespass warning and a citation for theft.
Chief Foster, Captain Garza and Sundown PD Reserve Officer Obenhaus conducted training at Sundown ISD and South Plains College.
The training was provided to the Sundown ISD Guardian Program to further enhance skills in reacting to an active shooter situation. Also, the Guardians were requalified on their firearms.
Foster added that the reserve program the Sundown PD has put in place has had a successful start. Captain Garza has spent a considerable amount of time processing applications and conducting background checks. Aryn Corley, Cory Speed and Jermaine Davis have been sworn in and now part of the Sundown PD.
Those additions bring the department to six total. Currently, the department has over 100 years of combined law enforcement experience. The group also exceeds 32,000 hours of educational, military and law enforcement training hours.
Foster wrapped up his report by adding that the department is still processing two other reserve officer applicants and should have them on board next month. The two additions also possess years of experience, training and knowledge benefitting the department.
For the public works update, Leo Lopez Jr., informed the group that there had not been any water leaks despite the freezing weather. However, there have been sewer main issues.
Those issues have been attributed to flushable wipes that have started to pile and cause problems.
The city’s Water Well Six will be looked at as the warmer weather progresses. One Sundown homeowner experienced a gas leak and had to be shut off. However, the leak was fixed by a plumber the next day.
For the Library, Director A’ndrea McAdams informed the Council that the library is progressing well along with having multiple grant applications out.
McAdams also shared that the library has received the 2024 Achievement of Library Excellence Award from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association (TMLDA,) an affiliate of the Texas Municipal League.
To successfully receive the Achievement of Library Excellence Award, the library must exhibit excellence by providing services to underserved and special populations, marketing in innovative ways, pursuing collaborative efforts, offering enhanced services through unique or expanded programming, providing literacy support, providing for digital inclusion, supporting workforce development, promoting cultural, topical, and educational programming, comprehensively training staff, and offering other unique services to their community.
Of the 542 public libraries in Texas, only 102 received this award in 2024.
House cleaning items approved by the Council included the approval of the minutes from the regular meeting held Jan. 9 and the payables for the month of January.