Portage County officials have reached a tentative settlement with former audit firm Wipfli LLP, Portage County Corporation Counsel Mike McKenna said Thursday.

The county filed a malpractice lawsuit against the firm in March, alleging auditors missed a July 31, 2008, deadline for filing the county's 2007 external audit with the Department of Revenue -- a misstep that cost the county $143,000 in federal highway funds.

The audit firm counter-sued in April, charging it was not paid all the fees it was owed for work on the 2007 audit.

The two parties reached the agreement through mediation.

McKenna was not able to disclose the contents of the settlement Thursday, but said the information will be presented Monday to the finance committee. Committee members will review the settlement in closed session. If they agree with the terms of the agreement, they might approve it open session.

That a tentative settlement had been reached came as welcome news to Finance Committee Chairman Jim Gifford, who recently questioned whether the suit was worth the legal expenses being incurred. The County Board has allocated $50,000 for expert witnesses and other litigation fees for the lawsuit so far, $25,000 of which was approved by the board at a meeting last month.

"I'm quite pleased that we have managed to reach an agreement," Gifford said. "I'm glad it's moving forward."