Council adopts ordinance to create auditor selection committee

The Boca Raton City Council on March 26 adopted Ordinance 56-90 to create an auditor selection committee charged with selecting the city’s annual financial auditor.

Assistant City Manager Linda Davidson told the council the ordinance implements section 218.391 of the Florida Statutes and lays out membership and duties for the committee. "Active members of the staff cannot serve on that committee, and an elected official must chair of of this body," Davidson said, describing a committee composed of one city-council member serving as chair, three members of the Financial Advisory Board and one nonresident local government finance professional versed in governmental accounting.

The ordinance directs the committee to issue a request for proposals, evaluate proposers and forward a recommendation to the City Council; cost proposals for CPA firms will be negotiated after the selection based on qualifications, Davidson said. Council members asked about the prior selection timeline and whether selection materials and cost information would be shared with the committee; Davidson said the process will mirror prior RFP work and staff will provide cost information to the committee to identify outliers.

The council moved and seconded the ordinance and approved it by a unanimous 5-0 roll-call vote. The ordinance sets a timeline for forming the committee after the council’s organizational meeting and for issuing the RFP and evaluation process.