By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
The Olean Common Council will meet in special session Tuesday night to discuss hiring an accounting firm to oversee the City Auditor’s Department and the $23.2 million city budget.
Mayor Amy B. Sherburne called the special meeting to hire Compass Group, a national auditing and consulting firm. Based in Minneapolis. The company would have the authority to act as city auditor.
Lens Martial, the city auditor, would continue to work in the office, according to Common Council Finance Committee Chairwoman Sonya McCall, D-Ward 4.
A second resolution submitted for consideration at the special meeting would authorize the mayor to advertise for a city auditor with a salary range of $95,000 to $120,000.
The resolution to employ Compass Group for auditing services and help preparing the 2026-27 city budget cites recent “audit findings as well as a history of errors in the City’s budgets and bookkeeping necessitates assistance from a neutral third party to prepare the 2026-27 fiscal year budget and resolve various issues and address deficiencies with the City’s finances.”
The resolution also states the April 15 deadline to adopt the 2026-27 city budget “is not conducive to the employment of a new City Auditor prior to the budget adoption.”
Compass Group will be authorized “to act as City Auditor” within the City Charter, according to the resolution.
Sherburne was a few days late in introducing her proposed budget. She cited the short six weeks to prepare a budget after taking office in January while two audits were ongoing, as well as new budget software.
McCall, in an interview with the Olean Star, said some Council members have spoken of the need for a certified public accountant to oversee the City Auditor’s Office.
“It’s like a $30 million business,” she said. “It makes sense. I think that would be our goal, to ultimately hire a CPA.”
McCall said she could not address personnel issues, but that Martial was still city auditor.
Tonight’s budget review by the Finance Committee will follow the special meeting. The review will focus on the Sewer Division, where an 11% increase in the sewer rate is proposed.
McCall said the Council’s goal is to reduce not only the 11% increase in the sewer rate, but to cut the 18.69% increase in the tax levy.
The city was notified of a one-time increase in state Assistance and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM) aid from $260,000 to more than $780,000 after the budget was prepared. It’s unclear whether the alderman will dip into the windfall — or how much they will dip into it — to reduce the 2026-27 property tax rate.
McCall said, “The Council is committed to bringing that
the tax burden, if you will, the tax breakdown
as low as we can without sacrificing services.”
What about tapping the general fund balance to help lower the proposed tax rate?
McCall replied that would be difficult since it is already lower than the 15% target for the general fund balance the Council has set. It is close, she noted, just over 13%.
The mayor proposed several new positions in the budget, McCall noted. Aldermen have asked if the departments couldn’t try to implement more efficiencies with existing staff.
