The Township Board will go forward with the Whall Group as their forensic auditor, after narrowly rejecting a proposal to scrap the idea of an audit and then passing a motion to put a retainer agreement with the auditor in place.
Treasurer Alice Young presented a three-part motion that would rescind the previous approval of a forensic audit, direct the board to not go forth with any audit, and ask the policies and procedures committee to review board practices and create a written document.
Trustee Mike Gingell voted in favor of that motion, saying that no matter the results of the audit, it will not put the issue to rest.
Clerk Jill Bastian joined Young and Gingell, but the motion fell one vote short.
Then trustees John Garlicki, Matt Gibb and John Steimel joined Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk in voting to proceed with the audit at a cost, as previously determined, not to exceed $26,250.
Gibb noted that the audit will recommend, but not specifically engage in any legal action, which Young said could lead to the cost being significantly more than $26,000.
The board agreed to select the Whall Group, based in Auburn Hills, at their Aug. 21 meeting. They rejected two lower proposals at that same meeting.
A committee of Garlicki, Gibb and Gingell put together the request for a proposal in late spring and met with auditors shortly thereafter. Many of the potential auditors said it was one of the best RFPs they had seen.