Supervisor scrutinizes staff recommendations for annual contract renewals, emergency services equipment purchases

Presented with the longest Consent Agenda of generally considered routine or “housekeeping” business ever seen in these parts, at least by this reporter and the current clerk of the Warren County Board of Supervisors – 21 items, one with 10 subsections – one board member decided not all of that business was “routine”. This observer would agree, if not on the items selected as needing additional scrutiny.

First-term Fork District Supervisor Vicky Cook requested that three of the 21 Consent Agenda items be pulled for discussion. One of those three, “Renewal of Annual Term Contracts” contained the 10 individual contract renewal subcategories requested for work for specific services “as needed” or on projects that will not be completed by the June 30th end of Fiscal Year-2022. Each of the 10 contract renewal proposals contained the cover sheet staff notation “There is no request for additional funding for FY23.” Existing projects that were continuing into the new fiscal year were also listed.

Fork District Supervisor Vicky Cook wondered at details of staff recommendations for annual service contract renewals despite Consent Agenda packet summaries of those renewals, not to mention staff’s daily availability for one-on-one answers to specific questions on what is generally considered routine or ‘housekeeping’ County business.

In opening her questioning on her three pulled items Cook cited past experience with private-sector contract renewals that saw “scope creep” add to costs beyond those initially authorized. County Administrator Ed Daley responded that, as noted in the cover sheet summaries, “there are limits on all these” contracts and that any additional expenditures would come before the supervisors for approval was the suggestion of add-ons to be made.

That led Cook into a series of exchanges with various Finance, Administrative, Legal, and Emergency Services departmental staff members.

At various points on Tuesday Deputy Finance Director, and past Town purchasing agent, Alisa Scott, Fire Marshal Gerry Maiatico, and Finance Director Matt Robertson, among others, responded to questions about contract, funding, and purchasing variables attached to the approaching Fiscal Year-2023 County Budget. Public School officials will also be back for additional discussion next week with state budget variables still in limbo as the July 1 start of the new fiscal year looms.

After an approximate half-hour exchange with those staffers, on Cook’s motion, seconded by Delores Oates, the board approved the 7 of the 10 contract renewal proposals with the exception of D – Fred Andrea Architects for Architectural Services; H – Land Planning & Design Associates for Architectural Services; and I – Racey Engineering, PLLC for Engineering Services. The concern on these three despite ongoing projects listed into the coming fiscal year appeared to be that the original contracts and authorized extensions had lapsed in January of 2022 for two, Andreae and Land Planning and Design; and even earlier – June 2019 for Racey Engineering.

Fire & Rescue requests

In raising her questions Cook cited a background in “contract negotiations” tho that background apparently did not include making the time to discuss her questions about funding and new project variables one-on-one with staff between receipt of the agenda packet the week prior to the meeting and the items coming to the board for what staff considered a routine vote of approval the following Tuesday.

The other two items pulled by Cook involved the purchase of “EMS Treatment and Support Equipment” and “Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)” for the County Fire & Rescue Department. There were costs tied to these F&R requests, a total of $67,484.60 for the EMS Treatments and Support Equipment and $88,150 for the SCBA. However, the staff summary noted that there were available funds in various Fire & Rescue Departmental budgets that would allow the purchases to be made through inter-fund transfers covering those costs.

The staff summary also noted that the SCBA purchase would replace equipment previously acquired through grants to meet OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards that were destroyed in the March 9, 2021, fire that gutted the F&R Department’s Training and Continuing Education Center.

Following several informational exchanges with Fire Marshal Gerry Maiatico the board also approved the Fire & Rescue equipment purchases and inter-departmental transfers to accomplish them – the Breathing Apparatus purchase on a motion by Cook, second Walt Mabe; the EMS Treatments and Support Equipment on a motion by Oates, second Cook.
‘County Attorney’ questions

Maiatico also faced questions on another Fire & Rescue Consent Agenda item, this one pulled for legal questions by no-longer Interim County Attorney Jason Ham – the interim was removed from Ham’s title following an hour-and-three-quarter Closed/Executive Session discussion of legal and personnel issues. Also following that Closed Session, Kerry Barnhart was appointed to a four-year term on the Joint Tourism Board tied to the creation of a DMO (Destination Marketing Organization). That term will run from July 1, 2022, thru June 30, 2026.

But back on the Fire & Rescue front, County Attorney Ham explained that he would like a delay on the request to transfer $26,000 from the FY-22 to FY-23 Budget “for the purchase of Occupational Health Services from Life Extension Services, Inc.” in order to give him time to run the request by an attorney in his practice more versed in “employment law” and implications of contracts related to employee Health Care.

Maiatico replied that while he appreciated the attorney’s care in approaching the matter, he was concerned that a delay to the next board meeting of June 28 for approval could jeopardize the department’s desire to continue with the new vendor’s scheduling in the coming fiscal year for those employee health care services – staff physical exams. Maiatico suggested the board allow the county administrator to authorize moving forward to lock in dates on those planned physical exams, maintaining the option to “pull the plug” prior to July 1 were Ham’s law partner’s recommendation to do so over unforeseen consequences on overall coverage.

County Attorney Jason Ham, right, like County Administrator Ed Daley to his right, now has the ‘interim’ removed from his title. Daley and Ham were on the same page on allowing Fire & Rescue Dpt. to proceed with a locking in of dates for physical exams for staff in the coming fiscal year as part of contracted Health Care services, if not yet final approval of contracting those services.

Ham noted he had not been aware of the time-sensitive nature of the request and said he would be fine with Maiatico’s suggested course of action. County Administrator Daley then suggested the board approve a motion authorizing him to sign the $26,000 budget carryover request “with the concurrence of the county attorney”. And on a motion by Oates, they did so.

See these discussions, votes, and other business that will be reported in a coming Royal Examiner story, in this linked County video.