Mayor cries ‘sabotage’ over delay
Washington Mayor Brenda Davis, head of the city’s police department, is crying foul after the acquisition of updated communication devices was delayed Thursday.
City council unanimously approved the purchase of five police car tablets, docking stations and mounts in September, but rescinded the $28,900 purchase during a meeting in City Hall.
Davis accused the finance department of purposely stalling necessary paperwork that she said they have had since May.
“This is sabotage from the account and finance department,” Davis said. “They don’t want to see us fight crime. They chose not to move forward.”
Susan Koehler, city deputy finance officer, said the purchase council approved was for an out-of-state program for which the city would not qualify.
“We’re not saying not to get (the equipment). We definitely want to,” Koehler said. “But we want to follow proper procedure.”
According to city solicitor Jack Cambest, a bid must be advertised for such purchases. The council-approved HGAC program, based in Texas, offered the most competitive price for the equipment, but Cambest said city code mandates a public notice procedure.
“My advice was you don’t want to risk it,” Cambest said.
City officials have the option to put out a bid for the equipment or apply through COSTARS, a state cooperative purchasing program municipalities regularly use that does not require a bidding process.
City police Chief Chris Luppino said the equipment would create mobile work stations for officers out on patrols, allowing them to look up warrants and vehicle registrations from their cars.
Without the technology, officers call into the county’s emergency communications center through their radios.
“It would hook us up directly to the 911 center,” Luppino said. “This way, the guys have access to a computer and won’t tie up air time.”
Luppino said the plan is to place the systems in the five newest cars, then add two every year.
“Hopefully, we’ll have them in a few months,” he said.
In other business, council held a public hearing to consider reviving the commercial and residential Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act, or LERTA, which expired Aug. 8. The act would provide tax breaks to city home and business owners who construct a new building or add value to an existing structure through improvements.
Approved residential applicants would receive a three-year abatement of any additional city and school district property taxes due to any increase in assessed value from the resulting improvements at a rate of 100 percent. Commercial applicants would receive a tax deduction of 100 percent in the first year with a decreasing percentage for four subsequent years.
Ken Baker, Washington School District solicitor, said it would be benefit the city and school district to have coinciding expiration dates for the LERTA, which usually occur five years after implementation.
Council took no action.