HomeMy Public PortalAboutR 98:006No. 98-6 Date ol Adoption. J~.l'qIL, l~uqY 1: 1998
RESOLUTION #98-6
APPOINTING A MUNICIPAL AUDITOR
FOR THE YEAR 1998
WHEREAS, there exists a need for a Registered Municipal Accountant of the State
of New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, funds are available for this purpose; and
WHEREAS, the Local Public Contracts Law (NJ.SA 40A:I 1-1 et seq.) requires
that the resolution authorizing the award of contracts for "Professional Services"
without competitive bids must be publicly advertised;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the
Borough of Carteret as follows;
1. Lerch, Vinci ~, Hig§ins , Registered Municipal
Accountants of the State of New Jersey are hereby appointed Municipal Auditor for
the Borough of Carteret for the year 1998.
2. That they shall in addition to preparing the annual audit in accordance with the
statutory requirement assist in the preparation of the 1998 Municipal Budget and
attend all conferences and meetings requested by the Governing Body regarding the
1998 budget.
3. Said appointment is awarded without competitive bidding as a Professional Service
under the provisions of the Local Public Contracts Law because a Certified Public
Accountant is a recognized profession licensed and regulated by Law.
4. For the performance ofthe aforesaid services, Lerch, Vinci & Higgins
be paid an annual fee of $ 30,00000
5. A notice of this action shall be published in The Home News and Tribune as
required by law on January 7, 1998.
Adopted this 1st day of January, 1998
and certified as a true copy of the original
on January 2, 1998.
KATHLEEN M. BARNEY,
RECORD OF COUNCIL VOTE
X Indicate Vote AB - Absent NV - Nol Voting XOR - Indicates Vole to Overrule Veto $ j
Adopled at a meeting of the Municipal Council dlarntary 17 1998
LERCH, VINCI & HIGGINS
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
REGISTERED MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTANTS
17 17 RO[JTE 208
FAIR LAWN. NJ 07410
'~ (201)791 7100
DiEfER p LERCH CPA, RMA. pSA FACSIMILE(201) 791-3035 ELIZABElll A SHICK CP'\ RMA, ['SA
G~RY J VINCI. CPA RMA PSA , i , ANNETTE E GIORi)ANO CPA RMA
January 13, 1998
Honorable Mayor and Members
of the Borough Council
Borough of Carteret
61 Cooke Avenue
Carteret, New Jersey 07008
Dear Governing Body:
We are pleased to confirm our understanding of the services we are
to provide for the Borough of Carteret for the year ended December 31,
1998. We will audit the financial statements of the Borough of Carteret
as of and for the year ended December 31, 1998.
In addition, we propose to timely complete the following additional
services that will not be subjected to the auditing procedures applied
in our audit of the financial statements:
o Review of the Unaudited Annual Financial Statement for the
year ended December 3]., 1998
o Review and certification of the 1998 Annual Budget
Our audit will be a Single Audit made in accordance with generally
accepted auditing standards for financial audits contained in
"Government Auditing Standards", issued by the Comptroller General of
the United States; the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996; and the
provisions of OMB Circular A-i33, "Audits of S~ates, Local Governments
and Non-Profit Organizations" and the provisions of New Jersey Circular
98-07, and will include tests of the accounting records of the Borough
and other procedures we consider necessary to enable us to express an
unqualified opinion that the financial statements are fairly presented,
in all material respects, in conformity with accounting principles and
practices as prescribed by the Division of Local Government Services,
Department of Community Affairs, State of New Jersey, and to report on
the schedules of expenditures of federal and/or state awards and the
Borough's compliance with laws and regulations and the provisions of
contracts and grant agreements and its internal controls as required for
a Single Audit. If our opinion is other than unqualified, we will fully
disclose the reasons in our report.
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The management of the Borough of Carteret is responsible for
establishing and maintaining internal control. In fulfilling this
responsibility, estimates and judgements by management are required to
assess the expected benefits and related costs of the controls. The
objectives of internal control are to provide management with
reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that assets are safeguarded
against loss from unauthorized use or disposition, that transactions are
executed in accordance with management.s authorizations and recorded
properly to permit the preparation of financial statements in accordance
with accounting principles and practices as prescribed by the Division
of Local Government Services, Department of Community Affairs, State of
New Jersey, and that federal and state award programs are managed in
compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of
contracts and grant agreements.
In planning and performing our audit for the year ended December
31, 1998, we will consider the internal control in order to determine
our auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing our opinions on
the .Borough's financial statements and on its compliance with
requzrements applicable to major programs and to report on internal
control in accordance with OMB Circular A-133 and New Jersey Circular
98-07, and not to provide assurance on the internal control.
We will obtain an understanding of the design of the relevant
controls and whether they have been placed in operation, and we will
assess control risk. Tests of controls may be performed to test the
effectiveness of certain controls that we consider relevant to
preventing and detecting errors and fraud that are material to the
financial statements and to preventing and detecting misstatements
resulting from illegal acts and other noncompliance matters that have a
direct and material effect on the financial statements. Our tests, if
performed, will be less in scope than would be necessary to render an
opinion on internal control and, accordingly, no opinion will be
expressed.
We will perform tests of controls, as required by OMB Circular A-
133 and New Jersey Circular 98-07, to evaluate the effectiveness of the
design and operation of controls that we considered relevant to
preventing or determining material noncompliance with compliance
requirements, applicable to each of the Borough.s major federal and/or
state award programs. Our tests will be less in scope than would be
necessary to render an opinion on these controls and, accordingly, no
opinion will be expressed.
We will inform you of any matters involving internal control and
its operation that we consider to be reportable conditions under
standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. Reportable conditions involve matters coming to our
attention relating to significant deficiencies in the design or
operation of the internal control that, in our judgement, could
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adversely affect the entity's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in
the financial statements. We will also inform you of any nonreportable
conditions or other matters involving internal control, if any, as
required by OMB Circular A-133 and New Jersey Circular 98-07.
Compliance with laws, regulations, contracts and grant agreements
applicable to the Borough of Carteret is the responsibility of the
Borough's management. As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, we
will perform tests of the Borough's compliance with applicable laws and
regulations and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements.
However, the objective of our audit will not be to provide an opinion on
overall compliance with such provisions, and we will not express such an
opinion.
Our audit will be conducted in accordance with the standards
referred to in the third paragraph. OMB Circular A-133 and New Jersey
Circular 98-07 require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the Borough has complied with
applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of contracts and
grant agreements. Our procedures will consist of the applicable
procedures described in the Circulars' compliance supplements. The
purpose of our audit will be to express an opinion on the Borough's
compliance with requirements applicable to major programs.
Our procedures will include tests of documentary evidence
supporting the transactions recorded in the accounts, and may include
direct confirmation of receivables and certain other assets and
liabilities by correspondence with selected individuals, creditors, and
financial institutions. We will request written representation from
your attorneys as part of the engagement, and they may bill you for
responding to this inquiry. At the conclusion of our audit, we will
also request certain written representations from you about the
financial statements and related matters.
An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; therefore, our
audit will involve judgement about the number of transactions to be
examined and the areas to be tested. Also, we will plan and perform the
audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. As required by the Single
Audit Act Amendments of 1996, OMB Circular A-133 and New Jersey Circular
98-07, our audit will include tests of transactions related to federal
and/or state award programs for compliance with applicable laws and
regulations and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements.
However, because of the concept of reasonable assurance and because we
will not perform a detailed examination of all transactions, there is a
risk that material errors, fraud or illegal acts may exist and not be
detected by us. However, we will inform you of any material errors and
any fraud that comes to our attention. We will also inform you of any
other illegal acts that come to our attention, unless clearly
inconsequential. We will include such matters in the reports required
for a single audit. Our responsibility as auditors is limited to the
period covered by our audit and does not extend to matters that might
arise during any later periods for which we are not engaged as auditors.
We understand that you will provide us with the basic information
' ed for our audit and that you are responsible for the accuracy and
requ~r ..... ~rmation We will advise you about appropria}e
co p .... ~ ~ a~lication and will assist in the
preparation of your financial statements, but the responsibility for the
financial statements remains with you. This responsibility includes the
establishment and maintenance of adequate records and related controls,
the selection and application of accounting principles, and the
safeguarding of assets. Management is also responsible for identifying
and ensuring that the entity complies with applicable laws and
regulations and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements.
The workpapers for this engagement are the property of Lerch, Vinci
& Higgins and constitute confidential information. However, we may be
requested to make certain workpapers available to the Division of Local
Government Services pursuant to authority given to it by law or
regulation. If requested, access to such workpapers will be provided
under the supervision of Lerch, Vinci & Higgins' personnel.
Furthermore, upon request, we may provide photocopies of selected
workpapers to the Division of Local Government Services. The Division
of Local Government Services may intend or decide to distribute the
photocopies or information contained therein to others, including other
governmental agencies.
Fees
Our fee for these services will be based on the actual time spent
at our standard hourly rates, plus any other out-of-pocket costs such as
mailing and Dostage. Our standard hourly rates vary according to the
degree of r~sponsibility involved and the experience level of the
personnel assigned to your audit. Our invoices for these fees will be
rendered each month as work progresses and are payable upon
presentation. Our fee for the previously described services will be
$30,000.
Should any additional matters come to our attention which will
require us to enlarge the scope of the engagement, we will discuss the
matter as well as the cost estimate with the governing body prior to
commencement of the work. Also, any matters performed on behalf of the
Borough not covered by this engagement letter will be billed out based
on our standard billing rates.
Our standard billing rates for 1998 are as follows:
Partners $115 $140 per hour
Managers $ 95 $110 per hour
Seniors $ 80 $ 95 per hour
Staff Accountants $ 65 $ 80 per hour
Other Personnel $ 45 per hour
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Government Auditinq Standards 1994 Revision requires that we
provide you with a copy of our most recent quality control review
report. Our 1997 peer review report accompanies this letter.
We appreciate the opportunity to be of service to the Borough of
Carteret and believe this letter accurately summarizes the significant
terms of our engagement. If you have any questions, please let us
know. If you agree with the terms of our engagement as described in
this letter, please sign the enclosed copy and return it to us.
Veryjtrul¥ yours, / ~ J
LERCH, VINCI & H ~ .
Certified Public Accountants
This letter correctly sets forth the understanding of the Borough of
Carteret.
By:-//?~/~/~
Title: Mayor
Date: January 27~ 1998
BOROUGH OF CARTERET
20 coOKE AVENUE
CARTERET, NEW JERSEY 07008
Tills AGREEMENT: made this Ist day of January 1997
By and between: Lerch, Vinci & tliggins 17-17 Route 208
Fair Lawn, N. J. 07410
And thc Borough of Carteret, a municipal corporation, having its
Principal office at the Borough Hall 61 Cooke Avenue, Carteret, New Jersey,
As per Resolution Number 98-6.
THE CONTRACTOR does hereby agree to pertbrm the following
MUNICIPAL AUDITOR FOR TIlE YEAR 1998.
According to the terms set forth in Resolution.
THE BOROUGH does hereby agree to pay the _Contractor the sum set
tbrtb in Resolution.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have hereunder set their hands and seals or
caused these presents to be signed by their proper corporate officers and their corporate
seals to be hereto affixed, the day and year written above.
Forj, l~c~o~oratic~ ; B; ~~.c~r~
BOROUGH OF CART p~j. Sica,~,/
' Mayor
K~hleen M. Barney
Municipal Clerk
Affidavit of Publication
Publisher's Fee $14.56 Affidavit Charge $12.50
State of New Jersey } ss.
MONMOUTH COUNTY
Personally appeared PAT HENEGHAN ~ "~' '
of I-~ome News 'Tribune, a newspaper printed in Freehold NJ and publ~t'ted In
NEPTUNE, In said County and State, who being duly sworn, deposeth and ~aith that the
advertisement of which the annexed is a true copy, has been published In the said newspaper
1 (ONE} times, once In each Issue, as follows
1/07/98,
CO, ~ISSION EX,!RES FEB. 14, 20J(~
Sworn and subscribed t~efore me this
~:~.~_~ .~. ~._ C. / ~ 7th day of January, A.D., 1998
Notary Public of New ~e~rsey
~OROUSH OF CARTERET
NOTICE OF
CONTRACT AWARDED
has awarded a contract
without competitive bid-
vice pursuant to N J S.A.
40A:11-5 (1) (a) This con
authorizin¢ it are available
for public ~nspection in the
Clerk.
Awarded ~o: Lerch, Vinci &
Uiggins
Services: Borou h Auditor
KATHLE EN~/M. BARNEY
Municipal Clerk
($14.56) 12443