The contract went to MRW Consulting Group of Plantation, Fla.
The contract calls for the consultants to begin work on May 10 and finish the job within 90 days. They will be paid up to $50,000.
The city's financial condition soured quickly in late 2008 due to the national stock market crash. When the city's problems became apparent in the months after the crash, some Assembly members and the new mayor, Dan Sullivan, said Begich and top managers had not been candid about the city's financial condition when the Assembly approved four big labor contracts at the end of 2008.
The Assembly voted in February to commission an independent audit to investigate alleged irregularities such as inaccurate reports of fund balances, and spending beyond appropriated levels.
The contract for the audit is being managed by City Clerk Barbara Gruenstein, Assembly lawyer Julia Tucker and the city's internal auditor, Peter Raiskums.
The three picked MRW Consulting Group from among three proposals submitted and passed that recommendation on to the Assembly.
Find Rosemary Shinohara online at adn.com/contact/rshinohara or call her at 257-4340.
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