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Committee sends AHBL contract overrun back to staff after debate over 'not to exceed' clause
Summary
A contract amendment disclosing a $4,826 overrun in a planning consultant contract with AHBL was pulled from the committee agenda and sent back to staff for further discussion after members debated the contract's not-to-exceed provision and potential risk of unjust enrichment claims.
The Snoqualmie Committee of the Whole sent a proposed contract amendment for AHBL back to staff after a lengthy discussion about contract administration and the meaning of a not-to-exceed clause.
Planning staff disclosed the city entered into a contract with AHBL for a senior planner and that the final invoice exceeded the contract by $4,826 on a contract with a $50,000 not-to-exceed limit. Staff said the planner—identified in the discussion as Andrew Love—had provided substantial assistance on planning commission matters before taking a position elsewhere.
Several council members emphasized the principle that a written not-to-exceed limit must be enforced and expressed concern about “rewarding” a vendor that exceeded its cap. Staff and the city attorney cautioned that an outright denial of payment can create a risk of an unjust-enrichment claim because the city received the benefit of the services. Committee members asked staff to take the matter back, discuss it with the vendor and return with recommendations; the item was removed from the committee agenda pending that follow-up.
During the discussion staff also said the city is implementing a contract-management module in Tyler that is expected to go live in early November; the module will include automated alerts to notify staff when a contract approaches its threshold to avoid similar overruns.
No formal payment decision or council vote was recorded; staff will meet with the vendor and report back to the committee.
