The Washington State Auditor released the City of Redmond’s 2007 Audit on Monday and the audit opinion was clean, with the auditor finding the city’s financial statements generally meeting state standards.

In two situations, the auditor found the city’s performance needed improvement. The auditor disagreed with how the city handled change orders in two properly bid projects. In both cases, the city chose to not re-bid a contract when additional work was required, while the auditor’s opinion was that the additional work required a re-bid.

The decision to not re-bid contracts for additional work is made on a case-by-case basis; however, it is generally the city’s experience that re-bidding a project costs the city considerably more than when the work is done through a change order with an existing contractor.

“The bidding process comes with its own expenses in staff time and money,” stated Bill Campbell, director of public works. “We weigh the costs and potential savings of re-bidding a project, and many times arrive at the conclusion that adding a change order to an existing contract is the more fiscally responsible approach.”

The auditor also found documentation missing for a federal grant the city received. That situation was due to staff turnover and procedures have been put in place to prevent it from happening again.

“We appreciate the good working relationship we have with the state auditors and take their recommendations very seriously,” noted Mike Bailey, director of finance. “Next year we look forward to a clean audit with no additional findings.”