The City Council shall hire and appoint the Independent Auditor. The Independent Auditor shall be a person or firm of persons that shall be at least a certified public accountant (CPA).
The Independent Auditor shall have the responsibilities and duties including but not limited to the following:
A. 
Shall examine, audit and settle all accounts whatsoever in which the City is concerned, either as debtor or creditor, and shall also, annually or as often as directed to do so by the City Council or City Administrator, examine and audit the accounts of all bureaus, officers, and departments which collect, receive, and disburse public moneys, or who are charged with the management, control, or custody thereof, and in every case shall report of such examination, audit and settlement to the City Council. The Independent Auditor shall likewise audit and report upon the accounts of any such officer upon the death, resignation, removal or expiration of the term of the said officers.
B. 
Shall audit all the accounts of any municipal officer in any department of the City government who may be charged with the duty, or who may perform the services, of receiving and disbursing the funds of any association, society, or organization of municipal employees or persons, directly or indirectly connected with the municipal government, for the benefit, relief, or pensioning of firemen, policemen, or other municipal employees or persons as aforesaid.
C. 
All such audits shall be made within as short a time as possible after the close of the fiscal year, and be annually reported to the Mayor and City Council by its first meeting in September.
[Amended 1-19-2022 by Ord. No. 1-2022]
D. 
Shall make a report to the Mayor and City Council, by its first meeting in September in each year, of the audits which shall have made of the accounts of the officers having charge, custody, control or disbursement of such public moneys and other funds, showing the balance in their hands respectively, and the Independent Auditor shall file a copy of the said annual report to Mayor and City Council with the Department of Community and Economic Development. It shall be lawful for the City or any taxpayer thereof on its behalf or any officer whose account is settled or audited to appeal from the settlement or audit to the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County within 45 days after the said annual report to the Mayor and City Council has been filed. If the appellant is a taxpayer or any officer charged as aforesaid, he shall file a bond, with one or more sufficient sureties, conditioned to pay all costs thereafter accruing in case a decision shall not be obtained more favorable to the party on whose behalf the appeal shall be taken than that contained in the said report. The Independent Auditor shall also prepare an intelligible summary of said reports, showing the fiscal condition of the affairs of the City, and post one copy of said summary in a conspicuous place in the City Hall.
[Amended 1-19-2022 by Ord. No. 1-2022]
The City Council shall set the compensation through an approved contract.