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Council member questions payments to vendor tied to city staff, cites charter conflict rules
Summary
A council member raised concerns that payments to a vendor named Timber and Tools—reported in city treasury records—are linked to city staff and family members, and urged council review under charter conflict-of-interest provisions. The mayor defended emergency hiring and said policy changes are forthcoming.
Speaker 3, a council member, used the council meeting to raise a formal inquiry about payments recorded to a vendor called Timber and Tools, saying finance records show the company listed an owner as "Renee Martinez" and that prior payments listed an individual named Ricardo Martinez.
"When I sent Jennifer an email ... she said that Timber and Tools was owned by Renee Martinez," Speaker 3 said, arguing the change from individual payments to a vendor DBA appeared "deceptive." He also read portions of the city charter on conflicts of interest and asked why the vendor was created and added to the vendor list without council review.
Mayor (Speaker 1) responded that the work in question involved remodeling at the police department and characterized the hiring as emergency work: "He was hired to remodel police department ... it was an emergency," Speaker 1 said, noting the contractor's familiarity with building details and that the police chief arranged the work. The mayor also said some payments were for materials and later work to install a locker and security features.
The exchange included debate about whether family members employed by the city and conversions from contract work to part-time status were transparent. Speaker 3 said he felt misled by a finance staff response that described vendor status, and pointed to charter language requiring disclosure and barring city officers or employees from engaging in transactions where a financial interest would interfere with duties.
No formal disciplinary action or vote was taken during the meeting on the vendor matter. Multiple council members said they intend to address procurement and conflict-of-interest rules in upcoming policy work sessions and the planned Nov. 11 work on budget and procurement policy language. Speaker 3 said policy changes could include limits on family members working in the same building or department.
Next steps: the council said the item will be placed on the work session agenda to review purchasing policies, vendor registration and disclosure procedures; no formal investigation outcome was announced at the meeting.
