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Dorchester County Council awards multi-year audit contract to second-lowest bidder
Summary
The Dorchester County Council voted to award audit services covering fiscal years 2023–2027 to the firm the finance department recommended as the best technical fit, citing multi-county experience and pledged hours; the contract covers 710 pledged audit hours and the council approved the recommendation unanimously.
Dorchester County Council on Jan. 7 approved the finance department’s recommendation to award audit services for fiscal years 2023–2027 to the firm judged the best technical fit, selecting the second-lowest bidder after a review of three qualified proposals.
County finance staff said the contract covers 710 pledged audit hours. The selection committee recommended the firm based on its multi-county audit experience, physical proximity and an audit-hour estimate that the finance team judged aligned with Dorchester County’s scope of work.
“We actually received 3 qualified bid packages from highly qualified audit firms,” the presenter said, adding the firms had “outstanding peer reviews.” The presenter described the selection as a difficult decision for the technical committee but said the chosen firm audits similar-size counties and has a public-sector audit team.
Finance staff explained the pledged-hours column is each firm’s estimate of the hours necessary to complete the audits; staff said the intent is that work stay within the proposed hours but acknowledged that audits can require additional time depending on circumstances. The county’s audit team — including the accounts-payable specialist and general-ledger staff — participated in the technical review, staff said.
Council members asked about the pledged-hours calculation, who served on the selection committee and how the sanitary district work would be handled. Staff said the contract proposal included an option for a separate audit of the Dorchester County Sanitary District for FY 2024; whether that separate audit will be exercised depends on external partner requirements and bond obligations. Staff also said pursuing a separate audit could be avoided if outside partners do not require it, potentially reducing overall cost.
The council approved the recommendation by motion and voice vote. The presenter said the county remains behind on audits and named achieving the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement as a goal once the county’s audit schedule is current.
The vote was recorded as approved; no roll-call tally was given in the meeting minutes provided.
Clarifying details noted in the meeting included: the engagement is for fiscal years 2023–2027; the proposal lists 710 pledged audit hours; three qualified firms responded to the solicitation; the selection committee included the finance director, an accounts-payable specialist and a general-ledger/finance accounting staff member.
