LADY BUDGETDOWN | NOVI: FIVE CHECKS. FIVE QUESTIONS.
A check register can tell us who got paid. It can tell us how much. It can tell us which accounting code was used. But sometimes, it doesn't tell us the most important thing:
What exactly did taxpayers receive for the money?
While reviewing Novi Community School District's FY2024-25 check register, several expenditures caught Lady Budgetdown's attention.
Not because I am alleging anything improper.
I'm not.
They caught my attention because the descriptions in the public check register leave reasonable questions that the underlying contracts, invoices or district officials could answer.
🪶 PARIVEDA CONSULTING - $49,520.00
Date: March 5, 2025
Fund: General Fund
Account: 11-232-4910
Register description: "Other Purchased Serv"
Pariveda is a consulting firm offering services involving strategy, technology, data and organizational transformation.
The check register shows one $49,520 payment. It does not explain in the entry what specific service or deliverable Novi purchased.
The question:
What did Novi Community School District purchase from Pariveda Consulting for $49,520, and what work or deliverables did the district receive?
🪶 MICHAEL LANCE DBA EXCELANCE - $24,999.96
The register shows 12 payments of $2,083.33, totaling $24,999.96 during FY2024-25.
Fund: General Fund
Account: 11-221-3190
Register description: "Other Professional &" / "Other Professional Services"
ExceLance describes its work as educational-data consulting, including data engineering, reporting and analytics.
The recurring payments appear throughout the fiscal year.
The question:
What services were provided under this approximately $25,000 annual arrangement, and what specific work or deliverables did Novi receive?
🪶 THRUN LAW FIRM P.C. - $41,435.73
Fund: General Fund
Accounts appearing in the register: 11-231-3170 and 11-232-3170
Register description: "Legal Services"
Thrun Law Firm is a Michigan law firm whose practice includes representation of public-school districts.
Unlike the first two, we know what category of service Novi was purchasing: legal services. The register shows recurring payments throughout the year, including $12,958.98 in November alone.
So the reasonable question here is different:
What categories of legal matters accounted for the $41,435.73 in FY2024-25 legal expenditures to Thrun Law Firm?
Not privileged attorney-client communications. Not confidential details.
Simply: what general types of matters generated the expense?
🪶 THE HUB STADIUM - $4,000.00
Date: May 16, 2025
Fund: General Fund
Account: 11-232-7910
Register description: "Miscellaneous Expend"
The HUB Stadium is an entertainment/event venue offering activities and group or corporate events.
Novi's check register records a $4,000 payment, but the entry itself doesn't tell readers what was purchased or the purpose of the expenditure.
The question:
What was the $4,000 expenditure at The HUB Stadium for, who participated, and what district purpose did it serve?
🪶 HULINGS AND ASSOCIATES LLC - $2,993.41
Date: September 4, 2024
Fund: General Fund
Account: 11-232-4910
Register description: "Other Purchased Serv"
The public register gives us the vendor, amount and accounting classification-but the entry doesn't identify the specific service purchased.
And because I don't have reliable documentation establishing exactly what this company provided to Novi, I'm not going to guess.
The question:
What service did Hulings and Associates provide for $2,993.41, and what did the district receive for that expenditure?
👑 AND THAT IS REALLY THE POINT.
None of these entries, standing alone, proves waste. None proves misconduct. And Lady Budgetdown isn't claiming either. But public money should invite public questions.
A taxpayer shouldn't have to assume that an expenditure was good or bad simply because a line appears in a 405-page check register.
So perhaps these aren't questions for Lady Budgetdown to answer. Perhaps they're questions for Novi residents to ask their district.
What was purchased?
Why was it purchased?
Who benefited?
What was delivered?
And where appropriate, can the district simply show the public the contract, invoice or documentation that answers those questions?
If there is a perfectly reasonable explanation - wonderful. That's an answer worth putting on the record, too.
Lady Budgetdown isn't interested in manufacturing a scandal.
She's interested in opening the ledger and asking what the numbers mean.
🪶 With receipts and respect.
Novi Community School District
Source: Novi Community School District, FY2024-25 Check Register, Report No. 17400.
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