The North Judson Town Council members renewed the town’s contract with Umbaugh and Associates when they met Monday evening.
Council President Wendy Hoppe mentioned that Umbaugh really helped save the town money last year. The council members noted that the contract appeared to be identical to last years and Town Attorney Justin Schramm said he felt comfortable moving forward with it.
The contract secures Umbaugh for consulting services related to the 2019 Budget and any other financial matters. There’s a $7,000 maximum for budget consultation, but if all the time is not used then the town will not be charged the full amount.
Though no changes were made to the agreement itself, Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe mentioned that there has been a switch in who serves as the town’s point of contact. He said he initially worked with Eric Walsh, but now that Walsh has become a partner, he’s working with another employee.
The new point of contact is Jeffery Weaver, who is in the process of taking his CPA exam. Rowe added that though Weaver has been helpful with certain things, he doesn’t feel that he’s receiving the same quality of assistance as before.
“… I think there are some things that might be new to him, it’s as simple as that…We work in Keystone and he’s not especially skilled in Keystone…but coming here it’s almost like we’re figuring things out together and I don’t know, I just expected for $140 an hour that it would have been a little different.”
Clerk-Treasurer Rowe said he wasn’t interested in discontinuing services with Umbaugh and he felt that Weaver was doing a good job with the aspects is was familiar with but he just wanted to alert the council members of the changes.
The contract was unanimously approved and Councilman John Rowe noted that if they are unsatisfied with the service they receive this year, they can look to renegotiate next year.
