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Resident urges limits on purchasing authority, questions administrator appointment to transportation district
Summary
A resident speaking during public comment asked the council to limit the city administrator's purchasing authority to $5,000 and questioned whether the city administrator, Kathy Pratt, meets residency requirements to serve on the Old Town Square Transportation Development District board.
During public comment at the Dec. 17 meeting, a resident who identified himself in the record as a city/county public advocate raised multiple concerns for the Board of Aldermen.
He questioned the appointment of City Administrator Kathy Pratt to the Old Town Square Transportation Development District, saying he believed case law requires district board members to be residents of the county in which the special district lies and asking that a neighborhood or town resident be considered for the seat.
The speaker also urged the council to limit the city administrator’s purchasing authority to $5,000 and to require the administrator to report any emergency procurements and their costs at the next available board meeting. He framed the change as a fiscal safeguard against fraud or misappropriation, citing a recent county police investigation involving embezzlement as a rationale for stronger local controls.
Nut graf: The public comment sought to constrain executive purchasing authority and to question whether a municipal appointment complied with residency norms for special district boards; the speaker asked the council to prioritize local representation and tighter fiscal oversight.
The speaker additionally opposed new taxes and expressed concern that a proposed street-light payment program seemed targeted to certain neighborhoods rather than citywide.
