Canton Mayor Thomas Bernabei's administration wants to buy goods and services valued up to $50,000 without competitive bidding. The level is now $20,000, but under state law it can be as high as $50,000. One reason the administration wants the spending level raised is the time it takes for the bidding process to be completed, particularly when the city has a need to fulfill quickly. Another is the expense involved in advertising for bids.
Canton City Council understands the request to buy more without competitive bidding. But it still wants to approve the spending. A likely compromise over the coming few days may be to give the administration the $50,000 threshold but retain the right to approve purchases and contracts at a lower level, $20,000 or $25,000.
This issue produced lively discussion at the City Council committees meeting Monday night. Leading the way was Councilman Frank Morris of Ward 9, Finance Committee chairman. He complimented the present administration for its financial management, compared with the previous one, that of Mayor William J. Healy II.
Indeed. The problem with the past administration was, in part, that the City Council in office then didn’t control the administraion’s spending. As a result, the city rolled into 2016 with a $5.1 million budget deficit to overcome. This occurred just as Tom Bernabei was taking up his duties as the new mayor.
Council should be diligent in watching city spending, and should have been more diligent in the past.
Here is an early-2016 story from The Canton Repository that explains the loss of revenue, the overspending, and the surprise need to refund nearly $1 million to taxpayers going into 2016:
http://www.cantonrep.com/article/20160203/NEWS/160209783?template=ampart
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