Council Discusses Assumption of City Audit Oversight

At a meeting of its Committee on Administration, Finance, Law and Public Services, the New Britain City Council discussed plans for establishing Council oversight of the audit of the city’s finances.

At the meeting on Monday, Council Majority Leader, Ald. John McNamara (D-4) pointed to state law assigns to the local legislative body, the City Council in New Britain, the role of appointing the city’s independent auditor.

State law says that the, “legislative body of a municipality,” designates, to the state Office of Policy and Management, “the name of the independent auditor, designated to audit the financial statements of the … municipality …”.

City Finance Director Jonathan Perugini appeared to concur that it is the Council’s role.

In the past, the audits of the city’s finances appear to have been carried out under the executive branch of city government, answerable to Mayor Erin Stewart (R). Perugini told the Council committee that his office already set the firm the carry out of the audit for the city budget year that ended June 30th, citing a state requirement that an auditor be named by June 1st.

But Perugini said that it is his office’s intention to cooperate with the Council’s new Audit Subcommittee in the selection process for the auditor to carry out the audit for the current budget year, which ends on June 30, 2025. Ald. McNamara said that it was the intention of the Council that the Audit Subcommittee be activated soon to oversee that process.

Ald. McNamara and the Council’s Assistant Republican leader, Ald. Sharon Beloin-Saavedra (R-1), said that they would be discussing more details about that oversight, including the question of interviews of prospective audit firms.

The city’s financial audits have become an issue in the city, as legally-required audit reports were reported to the state late two years in a row by the administration of Mayor Stewart.

The report for the city budget year that was from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 was recently submitted, nearly six months late. According to state law, the report appears to have been due by the end of December of 2023.

The recent late audit report follows an even later audit report for the budget year that was from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. That, fiscal year 2022, report was due in December of 2022 and was nearly a year late, filed in December of 2023.

The audit for the 2022-2023 budget year reported repeat problems that were unresolved from the previous year’s report.

Those audit reports, and actions being taken to address the noted problems going forward, were also discussed at the meeting.