Camden expected to replace auditor snagged by rule

Camden City Council is expected Wednesday to replace its initial pick as municipal auditor, giving the contract instead to the losing bidder.

Resolutions to appoint Holman Frenia Allison P.C. of Medford as the city's municipal auditor and enter into a contract with that firm to perform the city's 2013 audit are up for a Council vote at a special meeting.

Holman initially lost the bid to Bowman & Co. L.L.P. of Voorhees, the city's auditor since 1998.

Bowman's bid of $186,000 was somewhat higher than the $185,400 bid by Holman. City Council President Frank Moran said Bowman was chosen because of the city's long history with the company, calling it a "comfort zone."

But the decision came just weeks after nine Bowman partners donated $250 each to Mayor Dana L. Redd's reelection campaign and six partners gave $1,000 each to the Leaders Fund, a South Jersey political action committee. The timing raised eyebrows at the watchdog group Citizens Campaign, and the state Comptroller's Office opened an inquiry.

Bowman then withdrew its bid.

On Aug. 7, the firm notified the city that "Bowman's contributions outside the city of Camden would disqualify it in the aggregate amount under the ordinance."

Camden's pay-to-play ordinance - approved by the state Department of Community Affairs in 2011, and which must be followed as a condition of the state's transitional aid - states that a business entering into a contract with the city may not contribute any money to related campaigns or committees between the time of "first communication" and the end of the work.

It also lists annual campaign contribution limits, which is where Bowman believes it fell into ineligible status.

The same day that Bowman withdrew, City Attorney Mark Riondino responded to the comptroller's inquiry by saying the city was considering its options. In the same letter, Riondino said Holman was not eligible for the contract because it had won a separate $50,000 forensic-auditing contract in May.

On Monday, however, a city spokesman said the "DCA decided that Holman should not be disqualified."

The DCA, which oversees the local government services division that approved Camden's initial pick of Bowman as municipal auditor, declined to comment. The department's silence comes after weeks of defending Camden's selection process.

Before Bowman withdrew, a department spokeswoman had said the "DCA has spot-checked and has found no violations" of Camden's pay-to-play ordinance in choosing Bowman.

"The DCA is not aware that Bowman violated the model ordinance provisions the DCA requires," department spokeswoman Tammori Petty said Aug. 2, the same week the comptroller asked for information from Bowman and the city.

If Holman is awarded the contract, it would still keep its forensic audit contract, city officials said Monday.

The city spokesman, Robert Corrales, said in a statement that the DCA had determined that "Holman's independence would not be impaired, since they are not auditing their own work."

While Holman is also a big South Jersey political donor, a review of its 2011 and 2012 filings did not indicate donations to Camden officials or campaigns.