Dear Editor Stephen Vance,
With regards to your editorial, “Council Logic Can Be Difficult to Follow”, I wish to elaborate on my thinking.
There is nothing in the snow plow report given to Council which indicates a verifiable saving. It is only a claim by Meaford’s Director of Operations, Mr. Vokes and CAO, Frank Miele. They provide no indication of cost or comparison to other snowplows available. I expect better.
The official Staff Report OPS-2010-16 indicates that Staff was aware in October of 2009 that a new plow was required. It was budgeted for in 2010 and expected to go to a public tender. The tender documents could easily have been prepared prior to Budget approval that occurred in April. And this purchase of approximately $250,000.00 should have gone to tender. Why did this not happen?
The policy of tendering for an amount that involves $250,000 is Meaford’s purchasing policy. There is no other policy in normal practice which allows for this type of expenditure.
It would be irresponsible for me not to question staff on their recommendations. We do not know how much this plow is going to cost. We do not know how much other similar plows cost.
In municipal government, it is normal practice to tender so as to ensure we are getting the best deal for our public money. There are plenty of scandals in all three levels of government when normal practices are not followed.
Sincerely,
Jim McPherson, Meaford Councillor
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