Daytona Beach commission selects Abenet Belichu as city auditor after interviews

The Daytona Beach City Commission voted 5-2 on June 1, 2025, to select Abenet Belichu as the city’s next auditor after interviewing two finalists during a special meeting.

Commissioners conducted 30-minute interview blocks with each finalist and asked detailed questions about auditing standards, performance audits, ethics and communicating findings to elected officials and the public. The two finalists were Abenet Belichu, identified in the meeting as currently with USAID and applying for the city auditor/internal audit director role, and Roy Galder, identified in the meeting as an audit manager with the City of Dallas.

The choice matters because the city auditor’s office will set priorities for audits that can affect departmental operations, city spending and public trust. Both candidates emphasized independence, evidence-based recommendations and communicating findings to elected officials.

Belichu described more than 20 years of government auditing experience and multiple professional credentials, saying, “I have been in government more than 20 years… I am a certified public accountant, certified fraud examiner, certified in forensic finance, and certified internal auditor.” He told the commission that a good auditor prioritizes work through risk assessment and uses recommendations grounded in evidence to improve efficiency and prevent fraud, waste and abuse.

Roy Galder described his work in Dallas and emphasized startup and “first time through” audit work, saying, “If I were to start tomorrow, I wouldn't necessarily prioritize any area. What I would try to do is get an understanding of how the city operates… From there I would talk to the commissioners, the mayor, the city manager, and area department managers and try to understand what they see as their concerns.” Galder said his Dallas office includes about 21 people and that he oversees multiple concurrent audits; he also noted efforts to summarize audit reports for broader public engagement, including short videos.

Both candidates discussed widely used audit guidance. Belichu repeatedly referenced generally accepted government auditing standards (the Yellow Book) and described the need for independence, confidentiality during investigations and clear, plain-English reports. Galder said he would begin with a risk assessment and present an annual audit plan to the commission for approval.

On ethics and handling resistance, Belichu recounted experience identifying alleged embezzlement while supervising audits and said findings should be supported “with proper and sufficient documentation” so recommendations can withstand scrutiny and, where appropriate, lead to prosecution. He said audits require confidentiality during investigation but that elected officials should be briefed: “The audit must be confidential… but the audit should not be confidential to you elected people.”

Citizens attending the meeting raised concerns about how the commission will use audit reports. John Nicholson said he worried the commission might disregard a strong audit: “If he's gonna do all this work and it's good for us … I don't want us to just say, oh, well … we're not even gonna listen to them. So I'm a little bit concerned about that.” Another attendee, Burn Weatherholtz, praised both candidates and urged the commission to take the auditors’ recommendations seriously.

After public comment and commissioner discussion, the commission recorded votes: Abenet Belichu received five votes (Commissioner Reid; Mayor Derek L. Henry; Commissioner Strickland; Commissioner Danette Henry; Commissioner May) and Roy Galder received two votes (Commissioner Paris; Commissioner Cantu). The commission then moved to begin contract negotiations for the selected candidate and designated commissioners to participate in those negotiations.

Commissioners emphasized that the new auditor will focus on whether city operations are “running as efficiently as possible,” and on risk-based performance audits to identify operational improvements and cost savings. The commission did not set a detailed implementation timetable during the meeting; contract terms and start date were left to the upcoming negotiations.

The meeting lasted about one hour and included the candidate interviews, two public commenters and the formal vote. The commission adjourned after designating members to handle contract negotiations.