Council approves new police and fire station furnishings and equipment; one bid draws split vote

St. Clair Shores City Council approved multiple purchases Sept. 15 for equipment and furnishings for the city’s new public-safety building, voting separately on evidence/personnel lockers, high-density filing systems, police furniture and fire-station furniture.

The council awarded the evidence and personnel lockers contract to Casper Corporation for $230,523.92 after staff reported the product carries a lifetime warranty and met specifications. Police officials said the cost was within the project’s soft-cost budget and that small overages would be offset by savings on other items. The motion to approve the lockers was moved by Council member John Karen and supported by a colleague; the council approved the measure on a voice vote.

On the high-density filing systems for the records bureau, evidence room and vault, staff recommended Casper Corporation based on product quality and reference checks. Five bids were received; staff said the price difference between the recommended product and the low bidder was relatively small and that a product seen at a reference site was judged not desirable. After public comment from a bidder who said his bid pricing had been adjusted to add sales/use tax, the council voted 4–2 to award the contract to Casper. Roll-call results recorded Aye from Council members Frederick, Burgess, Karen and Rubello; Nay from Council members Roussey and Vitale. The council clerk recorded a 4–2 outcome.

Council members and staff spent time in the meeting clarifying procurement practice and the tax issue: city staff explained that when a contractor purchases material and installs it, the contractor may pay sales tax that is passed through in the bid price; when the city itself purchases and installs, the purchase is tax-exempt. Council requested follow-up verification with the city auditor/accountant to confirm the treatment in this procurement and flagged the contracts office’s bid instructions for the record.

Council later approved furniture for the police department (Partner House, low bidder) and partial furniture for the fire station (Partner House partial fulfillment) after staff said the selected products met operational needs and remained within soft-cost budget allowances. The police furniture purchase was approximately $10,000 under budget; the fire furniture request was a partial fulfillment while staff evaluates reuse of existing furniture to limit cost.

Council members asked staff to provide more comparative procurement details (quality checks and reference visits) in future agenda packets to document reasons for choosing higher-quality or non-lowest bids. Staff said they would provide more supporting material and also consult the city’s accountants about the tax/usage question raised by a public commenter.