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Fort Smith directors question chemical procurement after steep liquid-chlorine price; item tabled
Summary
Directors pressed staff on sole-source chemical purchases after one director said the city's liquid-chlorine price is roughly four times a published index. The board pulled and tabled the liquid-chlorine purchase for further bidding; staff agreed to seek additional suppliers and report back.
Board members on Sept. 2 expressed concern about the city's process for purchasing water- and wastewater-treatment chemicals after a director said the proposed liquid-chlorine price appeared far above published indices.
During consent-agenda discussion, Director Christina Kosiewicz questioned why the city was waiving competitive bidding for what she called a commonly available product and said she found a published U.S. liquid-chlorine price index at about $750 per ton while the city's purchase showed a price near $2,924 per ton for 140 tons. "We're paying almost 3,000. That's a 4 time markup," she said. Kosiewicz asked why purchasing was not soliciting wider bids and said she would not vote to waive competitive bidding for similar items without more outreach.
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