In a rare 4-3 vote, the Orion Township Board of Trustees has selected the Whall Group of Auburn Hills to oversee a forensic audit that will look into township investments.
The Aug. 21 decision came after the board had already debated the issue at length, and rejected motions to go with two other groups: Yeo & Yeo, and UHY Advisors.
The second rejection, of UHY Advisors, came by way of a decisive vote cast by Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk.
Trustee Matt Gibb was in the process of presenting a motion to postpone the matter when Dywasuk jumped in, and suggested they vote on the Whall Group.
Trustees John Steimel and John Garlicki joined Gibb and Dywasuk in voting for the audit, though both hesitated for a moment before voting ‘yes.?
Those three trustees had voted in favor of UHY Advisors just moments earlier.
The Whall Group bid was for $26,250, whereas Yeo & Yeo bid $18,000, and UHY had a ceiling of $24,000.
A fourth bidder, Cendrowski Corporate Advisors, placed a bid of over $42,000, and was never seriously considered by the board.
Both Trustee Mike Gingell and Treasurer Alice Young said before the voting began that they were going to withdraw their support to continue with an audit.
The pair joined with the thinking of Clerk Jill Bastian, who acknowledged months ago that she would no longer be in support of an audit.
‘I don’t believe that at this point in time an audit is going to get the answers we’re looking for,? Gingell said.
Young agreed, saying she would still be behind the audit if she thought it would put the controversy to rest.
‘Because the whole matter appears to be a politically motivated attempt to discredit me and my department, I have concluded that spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on this would be a misplaced and inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars,? she said, reading from a prepared statement.
The board debated the issue for over an hour, with the conversation often getting a bit heated, including one argument between Young and Dywasuk.
‘This demonstrates the ability of our board to answer this issue ourselves,? Garlicki said after the spat.
As for the Whall Group, Dywasuk said he supported them because of their extensive background in forensic audits.
‘They seemed like the most qualified,? he said, noting that he did not want to have there be a problem with the auditor, given the length of the matter already.
‘We made a mistake as a board and we need to get this thing resolved,? he added.