Fayette Commission to discuss lower spending limits
The Fayette County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to discuss at its April 9 regular meeting whether to drastically curtail the county administrator’s spending power.
Currently the county administrator has the ability to enter into contracts and make purchasing decisions up to $200,000 without an official vote of the board, as Commissioner Steve Brown noted in a March 6 memo when asking that the issue be placed on the agenda (it was tabled at the March 26 meeting).
“The willingness to execute such duties by the county administrator is certainly appreciated, but the Board of Commissioners is ultimately responsible for the tax revenue collected by the county government and we do not want to raise fiduciary accountability issues,” Brown wrote.
“I ask that we revise the spending limit without board approval to $50,000 to promote both accountability and transparency. This limit should include the sum total of any multi-year contracts, contingencies and possible options that create a scenario where the more than $50,000 could be spent on a particular purchase or multi-year contractual arrangement.”
The current policy was adopted two years ago as part of a consent agenda based on direction given at the April 7, 2013 board retreat. The new policy included this statement: “The Chairman or County Administrator is authorized to sign properly procured contracts that are less than $200,000 and budgeted.”
Another Brown initiative tabled two weeks ago and scheduled for this week’s meeting is his request that the board approve all policy and procedure changes by official votes during board meetings.
This is in response to a 2013 change delegating the authority to amend human resources policies and procedures to the county administrator and the human resources director, and delegating the authority to amend finance policies and procedures to the county administrator and the chief financial officer.
In new business, Brown has offered a resolution asking for a policy on tax abatement strategies or parameters from the Fayette County Development Authority “in order to build a trusting and accountable relationship with local governments and Fayette County’s taxpayers,” according to the written agenda request.
Also up for consideration is Chairman Charles Oddo’s recommendation to disband the Justice Center Park Committee, whose work is apparently done after action taken by the board last month.
The committee, formed in January of last year, came up with a proposal for a passive park encompassing the Justice Center, but the board voted March 10 to scale down that plan considerably. At the March 26 meeting Brown recommended the funds allocated for that project be redirected to the improvement of the Heritage Park fountain.
Brown, who chairs the committee, issued a memo stating that he sees no need for the committee to continue.
The consent agenda includes a request from Clerk of Court Sheila Studdard for an additional $32,300 for jury scripts, with said funding to be utilized from the fund balance, and approval of the disposition of tax refunds, in the amount of $123.56, as recommended by the Tax Assessor’s Office.
Other agenda items include:
A proclamation in recognition of Andrew Fleming, a local 8-year-old, who will host an event to Fight Hunger on Global Youth Service Day 2015.
A proclamation in recognition of Fayette County’s Master Gardener Extension Volunteers’ work in 2014.
A proclamation of Earth Day and Fayette County’s Earth Day Celebration scheduled for April 18.
No public hearings are scheduled. The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. at the county administrative complex in Fayetteville.
