La Marque to Pick a Firm for a Forensic Audit of Six Years of City Finances

La Marque's city council is set to choose a firm Monday night to dig through six years of the city's books.

The agenda for the 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, meeting at the council chambers, 1109-B Bayou Road, lists Item 8.IV: "Discuss, Consider, and Take Action on the Forensic Audit for the City of Marque. Selection of the Audit Firm that will conduct such Audit."

What the packet shows

The meeting packet contains one proposal, from Weaver and Tidwell LLP, a CPA and advisory firm with an office in Houston. It is dated Aug. 13, 2026, and responds to the city's Request for Qualifications 26-04. The packet does not say whether other firms responded or whether city staff made a recommendation.

Weaver's cover letter describes what the city asked for: a forensic audit of "selected scopes related to activities during Fiscal Years 2020 through 2025." The firm wrote that the work matters because the city "works to restore financial transparency, strengthen accountability" and give leaders, staff and residents confidence in the handling of public money "following recent budget deficits, fund balance declines and heightened public concern."

The firm says the city's request includes up to 15 separate scopes. It proposes a separate report for each one.

The price

Weaver's sealed fee proposal estimates $364,430 to complete all scopes of work. The firm calls its fees "total all-inclusive, not-to-exceed maximum prices" and says it does not bill separately for printing or similar out-of-pocket costs. It estimates 1,100 hours of staff time. The fee pages are marked confidential, but they are printed in the public packet.

The firm lists past work for other Texas governments, including forensic audits for Pasadena and Crockett, a review of the Midland Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund and investigations for the Austin city auditor. It also describes a tax-office investigation for Tomball ISD in which it found more than $900,000 in reported cash collections that did not appear to have been deposited.

Weaver's proposal is careful not to prejudge La Marque. In a section on likely problems, it says that because the review covers prior years, "some records may be incomplete, decentralized, inconsistently labeled or stored in multiple locations." It says it would use data analysis to look for duplicate payments, unusual vendors, split transactions and payments near approval limits. It also says it would separate simple compliance mistakes from weaknesses in controls.

Paul's Union Church in La Marque, 2008. Photo: Jim Evans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

A council under pressure

Minutes in the same packet show residents pressing the council on money. At the Oct. 12 meeting, resident Robert Michetich asked whether a figure discussed at a Sept. 8 meeting, that the city was "$5 million short," was still valid. He also asked how a higher tax rate would affect the reserve fund. Other speakers complained about potholes, unmowed ditches, missing streetlights and water bills.

At the same meeting, the council introduced Nicola Browe as its new permanent city clerk. The minutes say she told residents her goals are "to improve the trust and transparency of City Government."

Also Monday

The council will also take up the first amendment to the fiscal 2026-27 budget, a $29,764.40 change order with a 30-day extension on a lift station rehabilitation project, and a proposal to rescind the city's 2027-2028 Community Development Block Grant application, which the council authorized Aug. 24. Other items include cancelling the Nov. 23 and Dec. 28 meetings, a decision on whether to keep Zoom for citizen comments, a new performance review tool for staff and directors, bids for a mowing contract and a 911 dispatch agreement with the City of Hitchcock. The agenda also gives notice of a "Unified Town Hall" at 6 p.m. Nov. 5 in the council chambers.

The meeting will be shown on Channel 16 and on YouTube.

Worth the cost

A forensic audit is not cheap, and $364,430 is real money for a city that residents say is already stretched. But stewardship of public money is a duty, not a favor. If something went wrong between 2020 and 2025, taxpayers deserve to know. If nothing did, a clean report can help rebuild trust. Either way, the council should spell out the scope, the timeline and the full cost in public before it signs.

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