Tonight the Council will vote on a treasurer's warrant that includes payments tied to a capital project that has never gone through the formal bidding and approval process our Purchasing Policy requires.
I'm voting no, much as I have in the past, and I've put my reasoning in writing this time versus just verbalizing it during the meeting. Attached below, along with an earlier letter raising the same concern about a different contract, is a letter I will present for the record.
I cannot approve warrants that pay out money committed this way without making the Council complicit in a violation of our own rules. Trust, I do not want to withhold payment from anyone and this isn't about the quality of any work. It's fundamental to my position as a Councilor.
Oversight is part of the job and I took an oath to uphold the Town Charter and Code. The oath doesn't leave room for me to sign off on payments out of convenience or just because the work has already been done.
That's also why the Council will vote tonight on something I've been pushing for - updating the Town's procurement policy and procedures. I've requested a vote on whether to form an Ad Hoc Committee to rewrite the Town's Procurement Policy.
The policy hasn't kept pace with what the Town needs, including what's required to compete for federal grant funding, and it needs updating to strengthen compliance and oversight.
I think solid procurement rules are one cornerstone that everything else depends on including good capital planning, budgeting, efficiency, and also oversight. Without this, all of those required functions get harder. Especially when officials and officers change.
Executing this task will be instrumental in setting the Town up to follow through on its many plans which require procurement to implement - Comp Plan, Downtown Revitalization, Active Transportation, and also what I hope to accomplish after this which is a Master Capital and Infrastructure Plan.
--Sam