Missed deadlines and new requests are piling up on the city staff.
San Bernardino officials already had to submit the bankruptcy exit plan without audited financial statements, something that City Attorney Gary Saenz said would be, “devastating for the city.” That plan was submitted May 29th.
The city auditor — Macias, Gini and O’Connell LLP accounting firm, or MGO — recently requested the city provide more information for the already past-due audits.
San Bernardino Deputy City Manager Nita McKay expects the whole ordeal to be resolved before the city’s October court date, but she remains cautious of any further demands from the auditor in that time.
Recently, MGO doubled the estimated fee for the audit and quoted completion in another 8 weeks. MGO sent McKay a new list of requests and McKay said that despite the out-of-the-blue nature of some of the requests, City staff has responded to all audit inquiries in a timely manner.
And yet, McKay asserts that the MGO staff are not answering follow-up questions concerning the audit, not answering questions about delivery date, nor are they answering questions concerning another potential raise in the cost of the audit.
Despite the growing discontent with the auditing firm, McKay expressed hope for San Bernardino. She cited Stockton’s tardy audits when it faced bankruptcy and San Bernardino’s recent financial progress seen in their balanced budget.
The patience of the San Bernardino City Council is also wearing thin, with Councilmen Fred Shorett and Rikke Van Johnson questioning the motives of MGO, even going as far as to suggest starting the whole audit process over with a different firm.
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