West Newbury Select Board to Choose New Auditor by April 28 After Dual Interviews

WEST NEWBURY -- April 17, 2025, West Newbury Select Board interviews two audit firms, eyes April 28 decision as Triple-A rating holds. The board heard back-to-back presentations Thursday from CliftonLarsonAllen, represented by engagement principal Jim Petrowski, and CBIZ CPAs, represented by Renee Davis, a 30-year Massachusetts municipal audit specialist and former Powers and Sullivan partner, and director Rebecca Gamsby. Town Manager Angus Jennings told the board that after stripping out an attestation service West Newbury does not need, the effective first-year cost gap is roughly $20,000, approximately $35,000 for CBIZ CPAs versus $55,000 for CLA. The board directed Jennings to seek best-and-final pricing from both firms, with particular attention to whether years-two-and-three figures can be treated as not-to-exceed caps given the town's historically clean books. Standard and Poor's reaffirmed West Newbury's Triple-A bond rating the same day, which Jennings described as "hot off the press," and the board was told market volatility could add roughly $67,000 in borrowing costs over 20 years if a pending bond sale is delayed.