By Columbia Spy-
JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
Brown Plus will handle accounting and finance for 2027; Commonwealth Code Inspection Service takes on rental inspections and zoning
Columbia Borough Council on Tuesday approved two contracts that move much of the borough’s day-to-day finance and code work to outside firms: one with the accounting firm Brown Plus and one with Commonwealth Code Inspection Service of Manheim.
The votes came the same night council hired Keystone Municipal Solutions as interim borough manager at $120 an hour, and they reflect a broader shift toward contracted services at Borough Hall.
Council framed both deals as temporary supports while the borough rebuilds. “We need to get something to get us from A to B,” Councilman Kelly Murphy said of the finance contract.
Brown Plus takes over finance
The finance agreement runs from Jan. 1, 2027, through the earlier of Dec. 31, 2027, or the date the borough hires its own finance manager. It is billed hourly and as needed. Councilwoman Joanne Geesey read out Brown Plus’s rate sheet: $190 an hour for an associate accountant, $210 for a human resource coordinator, $250 for a human resource manager, $330 for a human resource director and $385 for a partner or principal.
Eric Kauffman, council president, said Brown Plus staff will attend roughly one council meeting a month plus budget meetings. The firm’s lead accountant, John Weidman, who attended the Nov. 5 workshop, would be in the office about twice a week. Council also asked the firm for set office hours so residents can make appointments to talk with a finance staffer.
The firm is not new to the borough. “We’ve been working with this outfit since [the previous finance manager] left,” Heather Zink, council vice president, said. She added that the firm’s payroll specialist has run payroll whenever the post was vacant. Zink also said Brown Plus has already started gathering information for the annual audit and handles recurring state filings such as quarterly unemployment compensation reports.
Zink said the contract provides continuity that a single employee cannot. “When we have a staff member leave, we’re kind of scrambling until we can get someone else in place,” she said. With Brown Plus, “we’re not left floundering.”
Commonwealth Code Inspection Service
Commonwealth Code will perform rental inspections, property inspections and zoning administration. “Commonwealth strictly does rental inspections, fire inspections, and zoning,” Kauffman said. The contract runs up to a year and uses a set fee schedule, not an hourly bill.
The fee schedule in the council packet sets $75 for a single-family rental inspection and $75 for the first unit of a multifamily building, plus $60 for each additional unit. Rooming houses cost $55 for the first room and $45 for each additional room. Reinspections after the first follow-up cost $50 a trip and are charged to the property owner, as are $50 cancellation fees.
Zoning administration is billed at $65 an hour, with extra charges for meetings, hearings and court appearances. Zoning duties include investigating complaints, issuing violation notices, reviewing subdivision plans and representing the borough before the Zoning Hearing Board.
The borough’s own rental fees should roughly cover the cost. “The fee schedule offsets their fee,” Kauffman said. “So it’s really a wash for us.” He added that the borough will check whether its fee schedule needs updating.
The borough is also adding in-house staff. Asked whether two part-time code officers could cover everything else, Kauffman said no: “We increased it to two full-time for next year’s budget. I don’t know if that’s enough, but that’s what we can afford right now.” Council discussed hiring two full-time code compliance officers at the Nov. 5 workshop, according to the minutes. Office staff will update records on rentals that were never registered, a council member said.
Whether taxpayers come out ahead will depend on hours billed and fees collected, and the borough’s 2027 budget, still in progress, will be the first test. Council’s next budget meeting is Thursday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. The next regular meeting is Nov. 24.
