An outside accounting firm is finally gearing up for a long-awaited forensic audit of the Kirkwood Electric Department as part of a probe to determine the factors behind a $15.6 million overspending fiasco.
Many challenges await Chicago-based Plante Moran when it launches its probe in early 2027.
One of the biggest may be the most vexing part of former Electric Director Mark Petty’s nearly 20-year tenure with the city: awarding no-bid contracts worth millions of dollars to vendors without notifying the Kirkwood City Council or encumbering funds in his department’s budget, leaving behind a trail of financial obligations that could take years to resolve…