Livonia council approves short‑term Plante Moran engagement as finance director seeks to close staffing gaps
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Summary
The City of Livonia voted on consent to hire Plante Moran Governmental Accounting Professionals for interim accounting support (up to $70,000, four months) while the finance department fills two senior roles; director also requested authorization to cover 2024 audit overruns, a packet figure showed $4,545,000 though the director said the original figure had been negotiated down.
Benjamin Greer, Livonia’s finance director, told the council on Nov. 17 that the department is short two senior accounting positions and is asking the city to contract Plante Moran Governmental Accounting Professionals (PMGAP) for interim help. Greer said PMGAP would provide two experienced CPAs on an hourly, as‑needed basis for an initial period of up to four months at a not‑to‑exceed cost of $70,000, with an option the mayor may exercise for up to two additional months and up to $24,000 in extra work. Greer said the engagement is intended to coach and supplement staff while the city recruits permanent hires and to reduce overtime and year‑end strain.
Greer said the arrangement includes safeguards to preserve audit independence: the audit division and the GAP (governmental accounting professionals) group operate separately, and PMGAP staff assigned to the engagement will not audit their own work. He described one senior hire as a former municipal finance director and a second staffer as a more junior CPA focused on day‑to‑day accounting and coaching.
During public comment, resident Jim Bigel urged the council to consider local CPA firms and warned against using the same firm for both auditing and accounting work, calling that practice a conflict‑of‑interest risk. Keith Shemansky, a PMGAP representative in the room, said the firm separates its audit and GAP practices and that this engagement is limited to coaching and compiling existing city records into the format auditors need; he said PMGAP would not create audit work products or perform audits for the city while providing GAP services.
Greer also asked the council to authorize an additional appropriation to cover out‑of‑scope costs from the 2024 audit. The packet lists $4,545,000 as the requested amount to cover those overruns; Greer said last year’s out‑of‑scope costs were unusually large because of a new auditing standard (SAS 145) requiring documentation of internal controls and because staff vacancies shifted preparatory work onto audit teams. He said that the figure reflected negotiation and that parties reduced the original amount; he did not provide a final, post‑negotiation line‑item figure at the meeting. Council members pressed Greer for clarity about time frames and cost savings; one councilor noted the department’s claimed $113,000 salary‑offset figure reflects gross salary savings but that net city savings would be closer to $43,000 after the $70,000 contract cost is counted.
The council approved the PMGAP engagement and the request to cover audit overruns on consent with no recorded objections. Several residents asked that the city solicit local firms and make procurement choices transparent going forward.
Next steps: the administration will finalize contract language and return ordinance/resolution language for the Dec. 3 voting meeting for formal approval and any additional budget action.
