Warren accepts FY24 audit, approves upgrade to financial software with implementation funding

The Warren Town Council reviewed recommendations from the budget committee and finance staff on the FY2024 audit and voted to treat the audit as final while implementing a multi-step remediation plan to address special-revenue reporting and internal process gaps.

Budget committee members said the audit issues are not material to the town’s core financial statements or bond rating but urged an accelerated corrective plan. Committee recommendations include standard operating procedures for reviews, a focused review of special-revenue funds and clearer month-to-month records to prevent repeat findings.

Separately, the council reviewed responses to a request for proposals for a modern financial management system. After demos and budget-committee input, staff recommended retaining the town’s current vendor platform (Edmonds/Edmunds GovTech) with improvements, training and consultant support rather than switching to higher-cost alternatives. The council awarded the contract to Edmunds and authorized the manager to proceed, asking staff to return next month with a not-to-exceed implementation package covering consulting, training and hardware (council signaled a target ceiling of roughly $50,000 for the implementation tranche, within previously budgeted amounts).

Council and budget representatives said improved software and consistent monthly review processes should make budgeting, monthly monitoring and grant/enterprise fund tracking more reliable. The council also authorized a separate procurement to implement a cloud-based maintenance-management system for the wastewater plant (approximately $5,000), contingent on the finance director identifying the appropriate line or enterprise fund transfer.