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Tulare County audit panel approves three-year extension with Brown Armstrong; elects Flores chair
Summary
At a May 29 special meeting, the Tulare County Audit Committee voted 4-0 to extend its external audit contract with Brown Armstrong for three years, accepted an independence confirmation, approved minutes and elected Jennifer Flores chair and Supervisor Vanderpool vice chair.
The Tulare County Audit Committee on May 29 voted 4-0 to approve a three-year extension of the county's external audit contract with Brown Armstrong and completed several routine committee actions, including electing Jennifer Flores as chair and Supervisor Vanderpool as vice chair.
The committee accepted an independence confirmation from audit staff and approved the minutes of its Oct. 31, 2024 meeting before debating the contract extension. Cas Cook, presenting the independence confirmation, said, "We are here to state that those that are working on our audits will be independent and will not be biased." The committee voted to accept the independence confirmation by voice vote, with a 4-0 tally and one member absent.
The contract extension covers fiscal years 2025 through 2027. According to the presentation, the current contract spans fiscal years 2021 through 2024. The proposed extension would apply a 3.5% increase each year on the current payment level, and the fiscal-year 2027 rate is described in the presentation as stabilized with no cost-of-living adjustment. The presenter also said Brown Armstrong performs the county's single audit and other financial statement work used by the Treasury.
Committee members pressed for transparency about the procurement process. One committee member asked when the audit contract last went out to bid; the response given in the meeting was "6 years." That same member urged following procurement protocols and giving other local accounting firms an opportunity to bid, saying, "I just wanna make sure that we're following that protocol." The member also suggested the committee could request comparative cost information from other jurisdictions and consider a formal request for proposals in the future.
After discussion, a motion to approve the three-year extension passed on a 4-0 voice vote with one member absent. The meeting record shows comparable unanimous voice votes for earlier items: approval of the Oct. 31, 2024 minutes and the independence confirmation. Committee members also nominated and approved committee leadership: Jennifer Flores as chair and Supervisor Vanderpool as vice chair; the nomination and voice vote record notes one member absent.
The committee concluded its special meeting by noting the next meeting date as July 10, 2025.
Votes at a glance
- Approve minutes, Oct. 31, 2024: approved (voice vote), tally recorded as 4-0, member absent (Bridal noted absent earlier in the meeting record). Motion to approve the minutes was moved by Vanderpool and seconded by Valero.
- Elect chair and vice chair (Jennifer Flores as chair; Supervisor Vanderpool as vice chair): approved by voice vote; member Bridal absent.
- Accept independence confirmation for audit staff: approved (voice vote), tally recorded as 4-0; Jason Britt was recorded absent for this vote.
- Approve 3-year extension to contract with Brown Armstrong (external auditor) covering fiscal years 2025-2027 with a projected 3.5% annual increase and a stabilized FY2027 rate: approved (voice vote), tally recorded as 4-0, one member absent.
(All vote tallies and absence notations are recorded in the meeting transcript; individual yes/no votes by name were not read aloud for each roll call.)
