Finance and Audit Committee Meeting - May 3, 2022

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Minutes of the Finance & Audit (F&A) Committee

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Advisory Board F&A Committee: Colette Aufranc (Chair) of Wellesley, Joe Nolan of Wayland, and Linda Marshall of Holliston.

MWRTA: Ed Carr (Administrator), Eva Willens (Deputy Administrator), Patrick Moynihan (Legal Counsel), John Glynn (CFO), Paula Doucette (Financial Assistant), Joy Glynn (Grants Manager), and Linda Murtagh (Executive Assistant/HR Manager)

1.  Call to order @ 9:02 AM by Ms. Aufranc - Acknowledge meeting is being recorded.

2.  Review prior meeting minutes: Small edit to be amended on 4/20/2022 meeting: 2 large national firms, 1 state-based firm, and 2 small firms.

Mr. Nolan made a motion to approve the April 20, 2022 minutes as amended. Second by Ms. Aufranc. Linda Marshall abstained as she was not in attendance at this meeting.

3.  Public comment: No public comments were presented.

4.  Discussion of finalist interviews: Each F&A Committee member presented their evaluations and stated their choices. All firms are good. Good credentials, competence, and reliability. Two out of three have RTA experience. Final analysis F&A Committee leans toward CLA.

5.  Discussion of staff review of federal and state debarment listings: Ms. Willens stated none of the 3 firms are debarred, all can work.

6.  Discussion of composite evaluation and responsibility forms: Discussion regarding Responsibility Determination Forms B (ranking) & C (yes/no responses).

Mr. Nolan: CLA and Norling: Highly Advantageous; Powers & Sullivan: Advantageous. Ms. Marshall: CLA and Norling: Highly Advantageous; Powers & Sullivan: Advantageous.

Ms. Aufranc: Powers & Sullivan and CLA: Highly Advantageous; Norling: Not advantageous. Based on the technical review CLA was ranked first.

7.  Open and review price proposals: Bid envelopes were opened by the Administrator with Legal Counsel assisting.

CLA 3 years with 2 options: $247,500 First year:                                    $45,000

Second year:                $47,250

$128,000

Powers 3 years with 2 options: $175,000

8.  Discuss and vote on final recommendation for the provision of audit services: The price of CLA is out of range. Discussion on large firm vs small firm. Norling is local, the price matches our budget, and has a history of 4 RTAs. Ms. Aufranc believes Powers & Sullivan has stronger resources and a better sense of audit approach.

Mr. Nolan did not feel connected to Powers & Sullivan, did not like how the interview went and felt they were not vested. Norling has done well with the RTAs. The current audit firm is small, experienced with RTA and bigger is not always better.

9.  Discussion of next steps including references:    Finalize forms B & C to become part of the public record.

10.  Next meeting date:  Mid to late June before the June Advisory Meeting.

11.  Adjournment @ 9:51 AM

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