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Financial consultant tells Seymour council a phased 60–90 day cleanup could fix fund‑accounting gaps
Summary
At a June 18 presentation, Mark Danny of AMCO Bond Services told Seymour leaders his team can identify where restricted and unrestricted city dollars reside, clean up accounting back to about 2019 and deliver phased reports in roughly 60–90 days; the council will review his proposal before deciding whether to engage the firm.
Mark Danny of AMCO Bond Services told the Seymour City Council on June 18 that his firm can perform a phased review of the city’s fund accounting and deliver an initial accounting cleanup within about 60–90 days.
Danny said his work would focus first on identifying what the city has and where those funds are held — distinguishing restricted from unrestricted balances — and then on recommending whether the city should pay down debt or invest in infrastructure. "I don't finish a job; you don't pay me," he said, describing a deliverable‑based fee approach tied to components of the engagement.
Danny said he is not a forensic accountant but has experience with utility rates, bond issuances and fund accounting, and that the review would include examining the general ledger and the ENCO/Encode software reports to determine whether the city’s current system can produce the reliable statements needed for decision making.
Council members and staff asked how quickly the work could be done, whether it would require on‑site work, and whether the Encode software could be made to produce clearer reports. Staff reported recent progress with the ENCO/Encode vendor and said another follow‑up meeting was scheduled; several council members said the presentation’s tone and implication that the city’s audits were seriously flawed raised concerns and warranted careful review before contracting.
The proposal presented to the council breaks the work into components so the city only pays for delivered results, Danny said. He estimated the initial phases could be completed in roughly two to three months and that additional work (deeper analysis, technology recommendations) would be priced separately.
Next steps: the council said it will review the written proposal and discuss whether to place the matter on a future agenda for formal consideration. There was no vote to hire AMCO at the June 18 meeting.
