The Riviera Beach City Council voted 4-1 on Wednesday to award a forensic audit of the city’s Finance Department to RIMAN Corporate Investigative Services. The contract is capped at $525,000 over five years, with up to $95,000 a year in the first four years and $145,000 in the fifth.
Council members first rejected a request to let Citrin Cooperman fix an unsigned form so its proposal could be scored. City staff said the firm’s Schedule 1 form needs a signature even when no subcontractors are used, and that the deadline for a formal protest had passed. Councilwoman Shirley Lanier was the only vote in favor of letting the firm cure the error.
The money was not in the fiscal 2027 budget, according to Chief Financial Officer Randy Sherman. The council amended the measure so the funds would come from the contingency line.
Chair Bruce Guyton, who said the audit was his idea, argued the city has never examined whether its finances are in order. Lanier questioned the audit’s focus and warned that it could put the city’s bonds at risk, arguing the review should begin with the utility district.
The meeting also featured a dispute over the internal auditor’s salary. Guyton said the position topped out at $137,000, but Internal Auditor Deondra Taylor Estelle said her October 2025 job description set the cap at $175,000.
