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Commission extends auditor contract for one year amid debate over selection process
Summary
The commission approved a one-year extension of the city’s audit contract with HCT Certified Public Accountants amid disagreements about auditor performance and calls to follow Florida’s auditor-selection statute for the next cycle.
The Palatka City Commission voted on Sept. 25 to extend the city’s contract with HCT Certified Public Accountants for one additional fiscal year as staff prepares to follow Florida Statute 218.39 procedures for selecting a new auditor.
Finance staff recommended the short extension so auditing work for the current fiscal year can proceed while the city completes the auditor-selection process required by state law. The finance director told commissioners that HCT “has the institutional knowledge” of the city’s accounts and that replacing the auditor immediately would complicate interim audit work.
The motion to extend HCT’s contract passed by voice vote with one commissioner dissenting. Commissioner Jones said he voted against the extension and criticized aspects of HCT’s presentations and the timeliness of their work. “I personally was not pleased with the auditors, and the timelines as well,” Jones said during the meeting.
After the vote a motion for reconsideration was made by a commissioner who had voted in favor; the motion for reconsideration failed. Commissioners discussed the timetable for a formal auditor-selection committee under Florida guidance and staff said an RFP process would likely take several months, with a new auditor in place by January if the process proceeds on schedule. Staff also noted that without an auditor under contract the city cannot complete the interim audit work typically performed at this point in the fiscal cycle.
