Aguilar seeks part-time accountant as audit remains delayed

Aguilar still could not give residents a clean picture of its finances, and trustees answered that gap by voting May 26 to advertise for a part-time accountant while the town waited on a delayed audit and kept reconciling 2024 records. In a town of about 457 people at the foot of the Spanish Peaks, that uncertainty reaches far beyond bookkeeping and into the daily business of paying bills, documenting grants, and keeping basic services on track.

The accounting search came after months of effort to rebuild records that were described as incomplete and difficult to use. Town officials had already been working through books that needed to be reconstructed from scratch, possibly back to at least 2023, and auditor James Rae had said the town would need another accounting firm to get financial documents into a format he could audit. Later reporting showed Aguilar had completed audits for 2019 through 2022, but the 2023 and 2024 audits remained unresolved. The 2024 audit slipped into delinquent status on July 31, and missing records included accounts receivable, capital assets and payroll liabilities.

Those gaps matter because Colorado law requires local governments to submit an annual independent financial audit to the State Auditor. State audit calendars warn that delinquent filings can trigger notices and could lead county treasurers to withhold tax revenues generated by the town’s taxing authority until the audit is filed. For Aguilar, the problem is no longer just paperwork. The town’s ability to show it is meeting state standards, handling money correctly and keeping revenue moving normally still depends on restoring records that have lagged for years.

The pressure on Aguilar has been amplified by other trouble at town hall. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation into alleged financial misconduct in 2024, and reporting around the audit said the town had missed fiscal-health benchmarks over a three-year period. Separate 2026 reporting also described water-safety and infrastructure problems that added to the town’s compliance burden, including concerns that made it harder to manage public projects and prove oversight.

Aguilar, founded in 1894 by José Ramón Aguilar, is now trying to stabilize itself under Mayor Erlinda Encinias and trustees Gerald Baudino, Bruce Trujillo, Frank Barajas, Monica Gauna, Daner McCullough and Sherri Wilson, with Stephanie Coca as town clerk. The part-time accountant posting is only one step, but it is a telling one: the town is still rebuilding the systems it needs before residents can expect clear, current answers about where the money went and how much work remains.