Commission hears how budget schedule, Munis and auditor contracts work in New Canaan
February 13, 2026 | New Canaan, Fairfield, Connecticut
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New Canaan — Members of the Charter Revision Commission spent part of their Feb. 12 session reviewing Article 5 language that governs the town’s budget schedule, accounting systems and auditor engagement.
Anne Kelly Lenz, the town CFO, said the town uses Munis (Tyler) for financial accounting and QDS for tax collections and that the town’s year-end accounting is a modified-accrual process that requires reconciliation with school data and state inputs. "Munis is one of the top ones within the country… QDS is the tax collection system that flows into Munis," she said.
On auditor contracts, Lenz said the town typically engages audit firms under multi-year contracts and then issues an annual engagement letter rather than hiring a new firm every year. "We typically do 3 years and then 1 year additions after that," she said, explaining the administrative practice behind the charter’s language that currently says the town shall ‘‘annually hire an independent accounting firm to audit the financial books of the town.''
Why it matters: Commissioners flagged places where the charter’s precise phrasing does not match operational practice — for example, fixed dates in the charter for budget steps that the town translates into a practical calendar each year. Staff and commissioners plan to propose language changes that reflect current operations and preserve needed oversight (town council receipt of the audit report) while avoiding unnecessary, inflexible prescription.
Quoted: "We re their contract usually is for 3 years… every year, we get an engagement letter from whatever firm we're using," Lenz said.
End note: The commission asked staff to reconcile charter language with practice and to check statute where charter-specified dates appear.
Anne Kelly Lenz, the town CFO, said the town uses Munis (Tyler) for financial accounting and QDS for tax collections and that the town’s year-end accounting is a modified-accrual process that requires reconciliation with school data and state inputs. "Munis is one of the top ones within the country… QDS is the tax collection system that flows into Munis," she said.
On auditor contracts, Lenz said the town typically engages audit firms under multi-year contracts and then issues an annual engagement letter rather than hiring a new firm every year. "We typically do 3 years and then 1 year additions after that," she said, explaining the administrative practice behind the charter’s language that currently says the town shall ‘‘annually hire an independent accounting firm to audit the financial books of the town.''
Why it matters: Commissioners flagged places where the charter’s precise phrasing does not match operational practice — for example, fixed dates in the charter for budget steps that the town translates into a practical calendar each year. Staff and commissioners plan to propose language changes that reflect current operations and preserve needed oversight (town council receipt of the audit report) while avoiding unnecessary, inflexible prescription.
Quoted: "We re their contract usually is for 3 years… every year, we get an engagement letter from whatever firm we're using," Lenz said.
End note: The commission asked staff to reconcile charter language with practice and to check statute where charter-specified dates appear.
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