By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
In Summary:
The Apopka City Commission voted to deny moving forward with a new request for proposals for a forensic audit, halting the effort for now. Some on the commission argued that transparency demands immediate action, while others said an outgoing commission should not define a costly audit for incoming leadership. The issue is expected to resurface once a new mayor and commission take office.
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In a debate that exposed sharp divisions over transparency, politics, and the limits of outgoing authority, the Apopka City Commission voted Wednesday to reject a proposed forensic audit — effectively leaving the decision to the next mayor and commission.
The vote halts, for now, an effort to revive a forensic audit first proposed in 2024, when the commission declined to award a $1.36 million contract to examine city finances dating back to 2018.
Related: Nelson and Nesta clash during Apopka City Council meeting on forensic audit.
But the outcome — a motion to deny advancing a new request for proposals — was only part of the story.
What unfolded instead was a pointed, at times personal debate over whether the push for an audit was about accountability — or politics.
A question of timing — and authority
At the center of the discussion was a fundamental question:
Should an outgoing commission define the scope of a potentially million-dollar forensic audit, or should that decision belong to newly elected leadership?
Finance Director Blanche Sherman opened the item by outlining the differences between the city’s standard financial audit, compliance audits, and a forensic audit — the latter focused specifically on detecting fraud, embezzlement, and misuse of assets.
“In order to minimize the cost of a forensic audit, staff is requesting that the commission consider narrowing the scope… to specifically identify the areas of concern,” Sherman said.
Sherman noted that commissioners had already received extensive financial documentation in the previous audit process, including information on Camp Wewa revenues and expenses, city reserve balances, opioid settlement funds, monthly disbursement reports, mayoral reimbursements, land transactions, grant activity, interest earnings, and attorney fees.
But Commissioner Diane Velazquez argued strongly that the previous audit proposal had been too broad and too political, citing campaign and election-related matters.
“At that time, it included a whole bunch of campaign funds and elections,” she said. “That had nothing to do with the City finances.”
Velazquez said she would not support advancing the process in the final days of the current administration.
“I’m not going to burden the incoming administration with an audit,” she said. “I’m not for a forensic audit… for the mayor and the commissioners that are on their way out.”
Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson and Commissioner Alexander Smith both lost elections on March 10. Their last meeting on the Commission will be on April 15.
“I want an audit — I just don't want you to do it.”
Commissioner Nick Nesta, who has previously supported the idea of a forensic audit, raised a separate concern — that the item itself was not driven by the Commission.
“None of the commissioners asked this to be brought back up,” Nesta said. “You brought this back up, Mayor… this is just another distraction from what’s really going on in our community right now.”
Pressed on whether his position had changed, Nesta drew a distinction that ultimately defined the debate.
“I very specifically said I want an audit,” he said. “I just don’t want you (Nelson) to do it.”
Nesta argued the previous effort had become “tainted” and said any audit should be rebuilt from scratch under the incoming commission, with a narrower scope and a phased approach to control costs.
“We’re going to do it in a way that makes sense,” he said. “We’re going to take it by steps and stages… we need to start fresh.”
Transparency vs. Politics
Others on the dais saw the delay itself as the problem.
Commissioner Nadia Anderson argued that if there were genuine concerns about financial wrongdoing, timing should not matter.
“If you want a forensic audit, it shouldn’t matter when it comes,” Anderson said. “If you vote against it today, that means your intentions were not pure.”
She called the resistance “very dishonest to the public” and said postponing the audit reinforced the perception that calls for one had been campaign-driven rather than substantive.
Nelson, who requested that staff bring the item back at the March 1 meeting, defended the proposal and said concerns about the previous scope could be addressed by revising it.
“If you want to take those items out, then take those items out,” Nelson said, referring to campaign-related elements included in the earlier proposal.
Nelson emphasized that the bulk of the audit scope focused on core City financial activity — including revenues, expenses, reserve balances, opioid settlement funds, disbursements, land transactions, grants, interest income, and attorney fees — and argued those areas were appropriate for review.
He also noted that the campaign-related components accounted for only a small portion — roughly $60,000 — of the previously estimated $1.36 million cost.
The vote — and what comes next
Velazquez ultimately made a motion to deny moving forward with the audit. Commissioner Anderson seconded. The motion passed, stopping the process before a new RFP could be issued.
However, this decision does not eliminate the possibility of a forensic audit; it simply delays it. With a new mayor and commission preparing to take office in May, the issue is likely to return with a reset in both tone and approach.
This developing story will be updated in future editions of The Apopka Voice.
Key Points:
- The commission voted to deny moving forward with a forensic audit RFP
- A previous audit proposal in 2024 carried a $1.36 million price tag
- Commissioners were divided over timing vs. transparency
- Critics said the effort should be handled by the incoming administration
- The forensic audit discussion is likely to return under new leadership
Feature photo by Isabel Lecompte (@ISASBEL.LECOMPTE), Interning Photographer for The Apopka Voice.
