Crowe LLP Municipal Advisor Engagement Letter

1. Scope of Crowe Services

This letter confirms the arrangement for Crowe LLP to provide consulting services to the Town of Cedar Lake in connection with budget and financial analysis. Crowe is providing these services in its capacity as a Municipal Advisor, and not as a Registered Dealer.

These services do not constitute an audit, review, or examination under AICPA assurance standards, and Crowe will not express an audit opinion. Crowe’s obligations are limited to the items listed in Attachment A unless the parties agree to expand the scope.

Work product and deliverables produced under this engagement are intended solely for the Town’s internal use; there are no third-party beneficiaries to the agreement.

2. Deliverables and Client Responsibilities

The Town is responsible for making all management decisions related to this engagement and for designating a Management Representative who will oversee the services, evaluate Crowe’s work, and maintain appropriate internal controls. The Town is also responsible for the accuracy and completeness of information it provides to Crowe.

Crowe personnel do not provide legal advice, even where individual staff hold law degrees. Legal and regulatory matters remain the responsibility of the Town’s own legal counsel.

3. Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

Under MSRB Rule G-42, Crowe is required to disclose any known material conflicts of interest identified through reasonable diligence. As of the date of this agreement, Crowe states that it is not aware of any material conflicts of interest.

4. Crowe’s Qualifications as a Registered Municipal Advisor

Crowe is registered with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Municipal Advisor. As a registered Municipal Advisor, Crowe files a Form MA for the firm and a Form MA-I for each employee engaged in municipal advisory activity. These filings disclose any criminal actions, regulatory actions, investigations, terminations, judgments, liens, civil litigation, and arbitration history, and are publicly viewable through the SEC’s EDGAR system.

Crowe LLP’s SEC EDGAR filer identifier (CIK) is 0001620621. Crowe’s most recent Form MA-A was accepted on May 14, 2026.

The MSRB is the principal regulator of the municipal securities market. It publishes rules intended to ensure fair and transparent practices among financial professionals and offers a public brochure explaining investor protections and the process for filing a complaint, available at www.msrb.org.

5. Fees

Fees are billed on an hourly, time-and-materials basis, plus out-of-pocket expenses billed at cost. Invoices are due upon receipt and are billed monthly as services are rendered. The applicable hourly rate schedule is detailed in Attachment A below.

6. Termination

Either party may terminate the engagement, in whole or as to specific scope elements, upon 90 days’ written notice. The agreement also terminates automatically upon completion of the scope of services.

7. Attachment A: Detailed Scope of Services and Fee Schedule

Services Crowe may provide, as requested by the Town

• General on-call financial and municipal advisory services
• Revenue and expense estimates for preparation of the annual budget
• Analysis and estimates related to Local Income Taxes (LIT) and the Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce (MUST)
• Analysis of potential new revenue sources
• Evaluation of cash flows relative to existing Town financings
• Preparation of proposed financing scenarios, including analysis of debt limits and covenants
• Assistance with Indiana DLGF annual debt management requirements
• General budgetary assistance and presentations to the Town Council, including evaluation of current fees and charges
• Estimation of operating and capital revenues and expenditures
• Preparation and/or review of DLGF-required budget forms
• Analysis and estimation of future Town revenues
• Evaluation of the DLGF 1782 Notice for errors or discrepancies affecting the Town’s certified budget and levies
• Comparative financial data for surrounding communities
• Attendance at Town meetings and working group meetings as requested, and coordination with the Lake County Auditor and Assessor
• Review and/or preparation of TIF neutralization reports, if requested

Out of scope: utility rate analysis, any bond and note issuance, and creation of a new TIF allocation area for a proposed bond issuance. These require separate engagement letters.

Hourly rate schedule

Out-of-pocket expenses billed at cost may include communication, printing, binding, electronic marketing, electronic bidding expense, evaluation software, and travel incurred on the Town’s behalf. If the engagement terminates before completion, Crowe will invoice the Town for time and expenses through the termination date.

8. Signatures

This agreement was executed by both parties via DocuSign (Envelope ID: F72FEF19-3C18-8FF5-808A-6C6DB0357BAB).

9. Summary of Additional Engagement Terms

The full agreement (see the signed PDF) also incorporates a standard set of Crowe Engagement Terms covering: client assistance obligations; professional standards (AICPA/PCAOB); confidentiality; data protection and cloud usage; intellectual property and Crowe’s ownership of work product methodology; limitation of liability and indemnification; a one-year time limit on claims; mediation and arbitration procedures administered by JAMS in Chicago, Illinois; a jury trial waiver; and consent to jurisdiction in Cook County, Illinois courts. These terms govern the legal and administrative relationship between the Town and Crowe and do not alter the scope of services or fees described above.

For the complete, legally controlling text of these terms, refer to the signed PDF linked below.