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Cayuga County committee shortens proposed audit extension to three years after member concerns
Summary
A proposed five-year extension to the county—s external audit agreement with Drescher & Malecki was amended to a three-year term after legislators said a five-year commitment would bind future bodies; finance staff argued a longer term secures lower rates.
Cayuga County—s Ways & Means committee debated and then approved an amended extension of the county—s external audit contract on Nov. 15, shortening an originally proposed five-year extension with Drescher & Malecki to three years.
Finance staff presented the resolution to authorize the director of finance to extend the audit agreement, describing a multi-year term as a cost-control measure that could hold audit rates lower than re-bidding annually. One legislator objected, saying "I think 5 years, this legislature is gonna be completely different, and I don't think it's good for us to make decisions for people that are gonna be here in the future," and moved to change the contract term to three years. The amendment was seconded and approved, and the resolution passed as amended.
Members cited two competing priorities: the potential cost savings and reduced vendor learning curve from a longer contract versus the desire to avoid binding future legislatures to long-term procurement decisions. Finance staff said that multi-year pricing often reduces overall cost and administrative churn when auditors are retained.
The committee directed finance to finalize and execute the amended agreement and to report back if negotiated costs differ materially from the figures provided to the committee. The committee recorded the amendment and approval by voice vote; the transcript does not include a roll-call tally for individual legislators.
