On May 21, the Belleville City Council opened bids for its accounting and audit services and reappointed Plante Moran to continue with the accounting and Alan C. Young to continue with the financial audits, both for three years.
There was only one sealed bid for each service and that was by the companies already doing the jobs. City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said the city had solicited six companies and advertised the call for bids.
Plante Moran bid the same fee as it now charges, $6,135 per month, for the 2012-13 fiscal year, with a 3% increase to $6,330 for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 years. The annual fee to prepare for audit had been $18,000 and was reduced to $15,000.
A separate auditor is necessary, since Plante Moran can’t audit itself, so Alan C. Young has been doing the job. The firm bid $15,300 for the first and second years and $16,065 for the third year of the agreement. A two-year option for renewal was added on, with fees of $16,065 and $16,870. Currently the audit fee is $17,000.
City Manager Kollmeyer said Young had been out of the country and when he returned he saw the call for bids and called to ask what his company had done wrong. Kollmeyer said she assured him the city was happy with his work, but because several new people have been elected to council, all the city services are being re-bid to see if they can’t get better prices.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the council:
• Set a public hearing on the proposed 2012-13 city budget for 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 4;
• Changed the city’s board appointment policy to allow the same person to be appointed to the Downtown Development Authority and the Parks and Recreation Commission, among other adjustments;
• Approved Mayor Kerreen Conley’s appointment of Tom Fielder to the DDA and Becky Hasen to the Planning Commission, with both terms to expire Dec. 31, 2014; and the reappointment of Toni Clark to the Cemetery Advisory Committee with a term to expire Dec. 31, 2013;
• Received a copy of the city’s ordinance governing the Hillside Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund that allows appropriation of funds by the council for certain uses, after recommendation by the Cemetery Advisory Committee. During a budget workshop, council members indicated they wanted to study the document to see what could be done;
• Deferred until the June 4 meeting action on the city fee schedule, for more information and possibly adding inspections of rental units. New items added on the proposed schedule are fees for Massage Parlors, Tattoo Parlors, Precious Metal Sales, and Voter Lists;
• Approved $136,586.01 in accounts payable, including the following departmental expenditures over $500: ICMA membership renewal, $598.40; CLEMIS police information system, to Oakland Co. Treasurer, $2,046.75; Horizon Park bank work, Valentine Tree Service, $1,000; jail inmate at Dickerson Facility, to Wayne County, $665; and an expenditure for fire hose of $6,543; and
• Discussed options for marking crosswalks on Main Street for the crossings that don’t have control lights, such as between the museum and Fourth St. Square. Police Chief Gene Taylor was asked to come up with some options.