Still No Auditor Chosen in Bloomingdale

The still has not decided whether to award a contract to a an auditing firm that proposed a contract $7,000 less than the one initially proposed by the current borough auditor after discussing the contracts at two seperate meetings.

Current auditing firm Lerch, Vinci and Higgins had proposed a $35,000 annual fee for their services, but Councilman Ray Yazdi said another company provided a lower amount in their proposal. Councilman Linda Shortman said Lerch, Vinci and Higgins verbally agreed to lower their proposed fee to $33,000.

According to the Suburban Trends, the council did not make a decision on the auditor appointment after discussing it in executive session following the March 6 meeting. Proposals for the appointment were submitted by last year's auditor Lerch, Vinci and Higgins, as well as Ferraioli, Wielkotz, Cerullo and Cuva and Samuel Klien & Company.

The council majority and Mayor Jon Dunleavy have been unable to agree on the borough's budget shortfalls of last year and particularly, who may be responsible for them. Democrat council members Yazdi and John D'Amato oppose the re-appointment of Lerch, Vinici and Higgins because they said they felt that the auditor may have contributed, along with last year's budget committee,

The council will continue discussion on the auditor appointment at the March 20 meeting and previous auditor Dieter Lerch is expected to speak about the shortfalls.