City approves new contract with auditor

The Medford City Council Committeeof- the-Whole voted Monday night to extend its auditing contract with Clifton Larson Allen for three years at a cost of $30,475 for 2020, $30,800 for 2021 and $31,125 for 2022.

Alderman Mike Bub said every year the city requests a printed copy of the audit report before Clifton Larson Allen presents it to the council and every year the audit firm has an excuse for not delivering it. Bub said the council has a right to review the report before the meeting rather than during the presentation by Clifton Larson Allen. He said the audit firm does a good job but did not understand why the firm couldn’t give the city the report in a timely fashion.

Both mayor Mike Wellner and alderman Greg Knight agreed with Bub.

Wellner said he and the city administrator have spoken about it. He said there are not many auditing firms that specialize in government work. Wellner said since Clifton Larson Allen has all the city’s paperwork from over the years, their prices are relatively low. He said if the city decided to switch to another company, which it could do if the council decided to, the audit would be more timeconsuming and cost more since the new company would be starting from scratch.

Knight suggested the council approve the extension on the condition Clifton Larson Allen provide the city with a hard copy of the report prior to the meeting. Wellner asked if they should specify one or two weeks before the meeting. Bub said one week would be sufficient, adding if the auditing firm didn’t do that, the city would deduct $500 from the fee. Bub said he thought the company did a good job, but that he would like to be able to read the audit report before it’s presented to the council.

Wellner said the city would contact Clifton Larson Allen before the next council meeting to say the council was willing to renew the contract on the condition the company send a hard copy of the audit report to the city at least one week before the presentation to the council or there would be a $500 penalty.

The committee approved bids of $727,523 for Schedule A and $108,116 for Schedule B ($835,639 total) from Switlick & Sons for the Phase II work of the East Side Interceptor project. Schedule A consists of the sewer work from Hwy 64 to Allman Street and the water and sewer work along Allman Street. Schedule B consists of the sewer work from Allman Street to the lift station at Impala Drive and Maibu Drive.

The committee also approved an agreement with Dixon Engineering for onsite inspection services during the construction and painting of the new water tower. Costs for the services will be $57,000 and the funds will come from the Tax Incremental District (TID) No. 13 expense account.