Council approves audit extension, financial and purchasing policies, and a master service agreement for building services

The Jersey Village City Council approved a set of administrative and vendor agreements intended to stabilize finance and permitting operations. Actions approved during the Aug. 18 meeting included extending the audit engagement, adopting comprehensive financial and purchasing policies, and authorizing a master service agreement (MSA) with Ayoka Engineering to provide building-department services.

Audit engagement and financial policies - Crowe LLP audit: Council accepted the FY2024–25 audit engagement letter with Crowe LLP, with council asking the city attorney to review Illinois choice-of-law/arbitration provisions contained in the engagement letter. Staff estimated the FY2024–25 audit base fee with anticipated single-audit work at approximately $47,350 (within budget). - Financial policy: Council adopted Resolution 2025-52, an expanded set of financial-management policies staff said are aligned with rating-agency best practices and intended to give staff high-level guidance on reserves, capital management and other financial controls. - Purchasing policy: Council adopted updated purchasing policies (Resolution 2025-49) to reflect changes in state law (Senate Bill 1173) that raise competitive-bidding thresholds effective Sept. 1.

Building-department services (Ayoka Engineering MSA) - Council approved Resolution 2025-54 authorizing the city manager to enter into an MSA with Ayoka Engineering (also referred to in the packet as AOPA/Ayoka). Staff described a shift from variable monthly billing to a predictable flat annual fee (staff estimated roughly $120,000/year based on current permit volumes) and stressed vendor commitments to digital/virtual plan review, guaranteed turnaround benchmarks and local presence (standing hours and an assigned building official). - Vendor commitments: Ayoka representatives described regional offices and local staffing, said they can integrate with the city's permitting software and guarantee faster average initial review times than the city has historically seen. Staff said guaranteed first-review turnarounds proposed by the vendor are substantially faster than the city's recent average.

Why it matters: the audit engagement and updated policies affect fiscal controls and transparency; the MSA addresses permit turnaround times and staffing stability in the city's permitting and inspection functions, which can affect development timelines and customer service for residents and contractors.

Next steps: the city attorney will review contract and choice-of-law provisions in the audit engagement letter; staff will execute the Ayoka MSA and implement transition steps, and will report first-year performance metrics to council.