ITHACA — On Feb. 17, 2026, the Gratiot County Board of Commissioners voted to hire the accounting firm Maner Costerisan to audit the county’s internal financial controls and accounting practices, at a cost not to exceed $40,000. The resolution says why: “leadership changes in the past year led to a fresh review of internal financial controls and accounting practices,” and “it was determined that the County lacked detailed, written internal control procedures to guide accounting practices.”
The stated purpose of the special audit is “to ensure that operating procedures including all internal controls and accounting practices are being followed and that all expenditures of County funds are made in accordance with laws, regulations, and County policy.”
What the record shows
The county administrator issued a request for proposals (Project No. 01-26) and received 12 proposals that met the qualifications, according to Resolution 26-368. The board chose Maner Costerisan as “the most responsive and responsible proposal.” The vote was 5-0 on a motion by Commissioner Sopocy, seconded by Commissioner Bunting.
The county’s check registers, which began appearing in board packets in March, show three payments to the firm under the general-fund line for the Board of Commissioners:
- $8,000, dated May 7, 2026, described as “2026 consulting progress — internal controls.”
- $15,000, dated June 25, 2026, described as a “consulting service progress bill.”
- $5,000, dated Aug. 27, 2026, described as “consulting services — final bill.”
That is $28,000 of the $40,000 authorized, and the last payment is labeled final.
The presentation
The minutes of the board’s July 21 meeting list, as the first item of new business, “Maner Costerisan, Internal controls review project — Bethany Verbel.” The minutes record no discussion, no document received and no action on the item. The same item appeared on the Aug. 4 agenda. The minutes of Aug. 4, approved by the board on Aug. 18, do not mention it.
No report, letter, finding or recommendation from the firm appears in any board packet from February through Sept. 15, 2026. This publication reviewed every regular-meeting packet posted for that period.
Policies adopted in the same months
While the audit was under way, the board adopted a run of written financial policies. On March 17 it approved policies on business travel and reimbursement, driver authorization, general financial practice, claims processing, health-information privacy and the sale of county property (Resolutions 26-387 through 26-391 and 26-393). On April 21 it approved budget procedures, budget transfers, enhanced access to public records and Freedom of Information Act policies, and repealed obsolete policies (Resolutions 26-414 through 26-418). The packets do not say whether any of these policies came from the firm’s work.
What is not known
Whether the audit found weaknesses, what they were, and what the county was told to change. An audit of internal controls paid for with public money is a public record once it is in the county’s hands, subject to the exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act. Obtaining it requires a written request with a requester’s name and address, which is a task for the volunteer public representatives this publication is recruiting.
Gratiot County and Maner Costerisan have not been asked to comment for this report. Either is welcome to respond at contactus@gcwhistleblower.com, and any response will be published in full.