Over the next three months, auditors will work on behalf of the village to turn up any savings or revenues that can be gleaned from its contracts with area utility companies.
A 30-month contract was unanimously approved by the council late last month to hire AmAudit, a Crystal Lake, firm that specializes in utility audits. According to a brief presentation to the council from a company representative, the purpose of the audit is essentially to make sure the village is getting its money’s worth from suppliers of electricity, phone services and other utilities. AmAudit’s work is scheduled to be completed in 90 days, from which point any savings discovered by the company will be split with the village for 30 months. At the end of the 30 month agreement, the village will recoup the entirety of these savings.
Similar audits have been conducted in Forest Park, according to Village Administrator Mike Sturino, but none were as comprehensive. Between 2003 and 2007 an auditing firm uncovered annual savings of several thousand dollars in electric costs. During the length of that five-year agreement, the village made payments of $1,194 to $5,788 to the auditor. As with the contract with AmAudit, those payments represent half of the total savings, Sturino said.
“This is part of our continuing effort to streamline operations,” Sturino said. “It goes hand-in-hand with continuing to find new sources of revenue.”
Originally, AmAudit was proposing a 36-month contract with the village, however, Commissioner Rory Hoskins negotiated fewer payments for the village during the company’s presentation to the council on May 30.
