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West Kittanning hires accountant to handle audit [The Leader Times, Kittanning, Pa.](Leader-Times (Kittanning, PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 07--West Kittanning's annual audit will be handled by a professional accountant for the first time in the borough's 114-year history. Council unanimously hired Kittanning-based certified public accountant Lorrie Greiner on Monday to handle the borough's audits for the next three years. She is to be paid $3,000 per year. President Bob Venesky said council had budgeted about $10,000 to hire a professional accountant to audit the borough's books annually and was glad to see a low price. "We thought it was best because (Greiner) is a professional who will be able to dedicate the time to get it done in a timely manner," Venesky said. "In the past, we've had issues with auditors taking too long to get this done, so those worries are now gone." Greiner could not be reached for comment Monday night. Greiner's was hired a month after a dispute was settled with the borough's elected auditors, Chairwoman Carol Augustine, Michael Kunselman and Cheri Lindsay. Last month, council paid the three auditors $972.50 each, which is about $10 per hour, for conducting the 2013 audit. Their pay was $1,260 higher than the auditor's initial $1,660 bill, which council refused to pay in June. Instead, council paid each auditor $300, until receiving a letter from their attorney, Chuck Pascal, threatening legal action. "We ended up paying them just because we didn't want to go to court," said Councilwoman Nancy Capone. Venesky said personal politics and the threat of litigation from Augustine, Kunselman and Lindsay did not influence council's decision to hire an independent auditor. "Council had been considering an outside auditor for the past two years, and we thought the time was right to move ahead," Venesky said. Kunselman said hiring an independent auditor was a waste of the borough's money. Even after $10 per hour for 97 hours of work this year, the borough would have paid less to stay with elected auditors, he said. "Even if they paid us the same amount next year, they're still paying more for an independent auditor," Kunselman said. "Who's doing the math?" Brad Pedersen is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-543-1303, ext. 1337, or [email protected]. ___ (c)2014 The Leader Times (Kittanning, Pa.) Visit The Leader Times (Kittanning, Pa.) at www.triblive.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |