COUNCILMEMBER JAMES SOLOMON OBJECTS TO THE RENEWAL OF INDEPENDENT AUDITOR CONTRACT, CITING MULTIPLE DELINQUENCIES AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

JERSEY CITY, NJ—Councilmember James Solomon (Ward E) released the following statement after voting not to renew the contract of Donohue, Gironda, Doria and Tomkins, LLC, the independent auditors for the city’s annual budget:

“After careful consideration, I voted no on renewing the contract of Donohue, Gironda, Doria and Tomkins, LLC, Jersey CIty’s independent auditors. This decision came down to two factors, which raised enough concerns for me to make this decision.

“First, the contractors have been routinely delinquent in turning around their audit of the city budget. At one point, their audit came 14 months after the end of the calendar, violating state law—which requires audits to be completed up to six months after the end of a fiscal year.

“Second, Donohue, Gironda, Doria and Tomkins, LLC has made several donations to political candidates and super PACs throughout Hudson County and the country. Because they are required to be independent, nonpartisan auditors, a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest puts the integrity of their work into question.

“Given unprecedented  tax increases facing homeowners, we need truly independent auditors to analyze our budgets for waste, fraud, and abuse. I do not believe Donohue, Gironda, Doria and Tomkins, LLC can do that, and as a result, I voted no on renewing their contract.”