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Riviera Beach council approves $348,000 external audit contract with HCT
Summary
The City Council authorized a professional auditing services agreement with HCT for $348,000 over an initial three-year term, following staff recalculation of proposal scores and public comments from a rival firm and an audit committee member.
The Riviera Beach City Council on April 16 approved Resolution 41-25, authorizing a professional auditing services agreement with HCT for external auditing services totaling $348,000 for an initial three-year period, with options to renew for two additional one-year terms.
City procurement director Miss Ammons told the council staff recalculated scores after discovering a disclosure issue with a previously recommended firm and clarifying office locations for competing proposers. "I have deemed Markham, now CBIZ, nonresponsive because they did not inform us of the litigation history," Miss Ammons said, and added that the recalculation left HCT as the highest-scoring proposal.
The resolution matters because it approves the contract and authorizes the director of finance to make payments from the appropriate account. The award follows a formal request for proposals (RFP No. 1130-24-4) and the evaluation process used by procurement staff.
Tanya Davis, assurance partner at S Davis and Associates, which ranked second in the evaluation, urged the council to consider rotating audit firms for fresh perspectives and to avoid complacency. "The city has engaged the same audit firm for 15 years," Davis said, and argued that rotation is a best practice for governmental audits. Scott Lewis, who identified himself as a member of the city's audit committee, praised staff for correcting the record after the previous meeting and urged the council to restore internal audit capacity. "This auditing service, it's only part of the equation," Lewis said, arguing the city also needs an internal auditor.
Council members asked procurement and staff to explain the scoring: Miss Ammons reported HCT scored 74.1 points and S Davis and Associates scored 73.05 after the recalculation. The council voted to adopt the resolution; roll call recorded the item as approved unanimously.
The contract includes the stated renewal options. No mover or seconder for the resolution was named on the public record; the minutes show the council approved the item as presented.
The city clerk recorded the resolution's effective date as provided in the text of the measure.
