Trustee Joe opened the study session on Oct. 1 by saying the board would discuss an "entrance audit" of township finances and that he had previously researched the idea four years earlier. He asked for members' input on scope and cost.

The board debated whether a forensic-style entrance audit — which looks back multiple years and can be more in-depth than routine financial audits — was still warranted after improvements made by the township finance director, Teresa. Teresa described current budget pressures and said the finance department could need only two to four staff hours of support for the audit, but warned the work should be completed by Dec. 31 if initiated this fall to avoid the department's heavy January–March workload.

Nut graf: Trustees split over cost, scope and timing. Some members said the audit could teach procedures and detect past mismanagement; others said Teresa's work and recent audits have fixed problems and that the cost should instead be preserved for priorities such as employee pay. The board agreed to place an action item on the Oct. 13 meeting agenda to interview two firms and then decide whether to proceed.

More detail: Trustee Jamieson and Trustee Mark said they saw limited value in a broad audit now because Teresa had already found and corrected policy and procedural issues; Jamieson said, "I don't see a ton of value in just doing a broad audit." Treasurer and Finance Director Teresa said the township's unassigned general fund balance at 03/31/2025 was about $1,900,000 and noted prior budget assumptions included proceeds from the sale of a Dallas property that later were directed to another purchase on Macomb Street, reducing available excess funds.

Trustee William and Trustee Joe favored an in-depth review. Joe said he had previously obtained a verbal quote of about $24,000 for a four-year lookback years ago, and that current written proposals now ranged much higher: "that 24,000 has gone to 60 for the same time, and 1 of them shows 90... the third 1 at a 100 and then $200 at the end" for longer (12-year) scopes. Several trustees noted forensic or CPA hourly rates and the extra time required when firms review multiple years and many budget areas.

On next steps, Joe proposed and the board agreed to add an action item to the Oct. 13 agenda to interview the top two firms that responded to the RFP; if a majority (four trustees) voted to proceed after interviews, the board would authorize final steps to contract and identify funding. Teresa cautioned that firms typically need two to three weeks to schedule and that the work should be staged so the finance department's part is done by Dec. 31 if the board moves forward.

Discussion versus decision: No motion to hire was made and no contract was approved. The board created an action item to interview two audit firms; any hiring decision and funding source (likely fund balance if unbudgeted) would require a subsequent vote.

Ending: The board set the interviews as the next procedural step and did not vote on expenditure tonight. Trustees requested firm proposals clarify whether work could be done remotely (read-only access versus on-site) and whether quoted fees would hold for a defined period.