Audit Bill Dispute - McComb
McComb officials divided over $55,000 final invoice from former auditor
The McComb Board of Mayor and Selectmen is weighing whether to protest or pay a $55,000 final invoice from former city auditor Booker T. Camper CPA, with combined audit costs for fiscal 2021 and 2022 reaching roughly $360,000.
At an Oct. 1 work session, the city administrator told the board, "We have paid uh $191,000 for 2022. I think for 2021 and 2022 combined, we're at about 360,000 for those two years." The administrator went on to say, "personally, I think we need to protest it and see if we can get the bill lowered. I don't know whether we'll be successful in doing so, but it's something that we should uh do as opposed to just paying it right out." A board member, addressed as mayor, instead favored paying the invoice and moving on, though that attribution remains unconfirmed.
The disagreement centers on public money: a selectman has called the two-year audit total "excessive." With no resolution reached at the work session, the board left the matter unsettled, leaving taxpayers to wait on whether the city will challenge the bill or simply pay it.