The City Council on Monday is expected to approve hiring an outside firm to review operations of the Township Assessor’s office.
Of the city’s nine aldermen, five sit on the Human Services Committee, which voted unanimously this week in favor of the review.
The aldermen say they want Virchow, Krause & Company to determine whether the township assessor properly forwarded taxpayer property assessment appeals and building permit data to the county assessor’s office and real estate transfer tax payment reports to the county recorder’s office.
Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, who once served as township assessor, said the aldermen have concerns about whether the assessor’s office is doing the work it’s supposed to perform under state law.
Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said she wanted to learn whether the assessor’s office is doing work that is duplicated by the city’s Community Development Department or the City Clerk.
Township Assessor Sharon Eckersall attended the meeting but did not address the committee.
The review is expected to take about a month and cost up to $9,000 at an hourly rate of $250.
The committee also voted unanimously to hire Virchow Krause, which has done a variety of other auditing work for the city, to conduct the regular annual audit of the township’s operations this year.