Town Board Can’t Be Bothered Comparing Prices

When it comes to spending our tax dollars, Supervisor Michael Grace doesn't think it’s always worth the effort to shop around for the best price.

At Tuesday’s Town Board meeting, Supervisor Grace informed the Board that asbestos was found in the Granite Knolls barn and that an abatement contractor would have to be hired to remove the asbestos before the structure could be demolished.

The Supervisor went on to say that the company that had confirmed the presence of the asbestos had, “…recommended someone…(and)…I’ve got no problem with the guy he recommended because I need (the company who made the recommendation) to sign off on it…I don’t want to go out for three quotes on $1,400 when I got the guy I trust telling me what he thinks...”

That’s how Supervisor Grace rationalized ignoring the Town’s Procurement Policy that requires three comparative price quotes for purchases between $1,000 and $10,000.  The rest of the Board went along with the Supervisor’s recommendation and voted unanimously to hire the “recommended” abatement contractor for up to $2,000. There was NO discussion about getting comparative price quotes.

The Board’s actions raise several questions:

• Why have a three quote requirement if the Town’s elected officials see fit to ignore it – when it suits them?
• Is the Town Board bound by the same Procurement Policy that department heads have to follow?
• Who holds the Board accountable when it ignores one of its own policies?
• What message does the Board’s action send to department heads? Are they now free to ignore the three quote requirement at their discretion?

The quick and easy answer to these questions is that the three quote requirement doesn’t make sense on “small” purchases and that it’s a waste of staff time to get quotes for jobs as small as $1,400, assuming that is, that at the outset, one has a ballpark idea what the cost “might” be.

If that’s what the members of the Town Board believe, then instead of ignoring the Procurement Policy – when it suits them – perhaps they should consider amending the policy and raising the threshold when three quotes are required. The question would then become: what should be an appropriate threshold? $2,000? $3,000? $4,000? Pick your number.

But before the Board begins to tinker with the three quote requirement, it might want to reflect on why the requirement was put there in the first place.

Fair and open competition in town purchasing practices reduces costs, saves taxpayer dollars, and discourages favoritism. Our elected officials should be encouraging more competition, not less. And they should remember that they’re spending OUR money.