The Franklin City Merit Board voted to approve a $9,800 payment to an external testing vendor for written and oral exams, after members raised concerns about additional project-development fees that were not included in the vendor’s attachments.

Speaker 1, a board member presiding over the meeting, said the vendor’s newly submitted contract reflected $12.05 per (unit) pricing for the promotion testing, and noted an earlier document appeared to show a $9.08 figure, a discrepancy Speaker 1 estimated as a roughly $2,700 difference. "She did send a new contract and agreement for us to refer to review, and basically, it's the same pricing as what they were going to charge us previously, at the $12.05," Speaker 1 said.

Board members reviewed the vendor’s fee schedule as shown in packet exhibits: written aptitude testing listed at $1,500 for the first 25 applicants and $30 for each additional applicant; oral interviews listed at $1,600 for the first 15 applicants, with additional fees if the process extended beyond one day. Speaker 2 noted the board had saved money in a past cycle by not generating new test questions.

Speaker 1 raised a larger concern: the vendor’s paperwork appeared to include about $6,200 in "project development" fees that Speaker 1 did not find in the attachments the vendor had sent. Speaker 4, who presented additional procedural context during the meeting, proposed that board officers contact the vendor to clarify the discrepancy and discuss negotiations for 2026. "I'll communicate with her and we'll get that issue straightened out and we'll talk to her," Speaker 4 said.

Following discussion, Speaker 4 proposed a motion to supersede an earlier authorization and to instead pay $9,800 to the testing agency. The board voted in favor; the transcript records the motion being moved and seconded and the chair calling for ayes, after which the motion passed. The transcript does not record named mover/second or a roll-call vote tally.

The board agreed officers would follow up with the vendor, aim to present clarified contract documents in January, and decide on final arrangements in February. The board also confirmed that lateral hires are processed internally and would not incur vendor scoring fees.

The board’s decision is procedural: it approves the payment amount while directing staff to clarify and, if needed, renegotiate vendor charges before final steps for the 2026 testing cycle.