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Warrants review flags postage, Amazon spending and Munis costs; committee requests school legal billing for Boys and Girls Club
Summary
During its warrants review the committee flagged high postage spending and Amazon purchases by schools, discussed large Munis/cloud costs, and voted to request FY26 purchase orders and invoices tied to legal work on the Boys and Girls Club easement.
The accounts committee reviewed multiple warrants and raised several procurement and expenditure questions at its May 7 meeting, then voted to request records of school‑related legal spending.
Committee members examined warrant P26-097 and others, asking whether apparent duplicate entries were true duplicates. The auditor explained many seemingly identical entries result from splitting a purchase order across departments (for example, Core & Main charges split between sewer and water). Members also highlighted postage spending (year‑to‑date about $221,390) and noted a U.S. Postal Service rate increase to 82¢ that will increase future costs; the auditor said postage historically has overrun and the FY27 budget will likely need additional funds unless billing practices change.
The committee questioned school purchasing via multiple Amazon accounts (one line item showed $761,400 year‑to‑date) and the auditor said efforts are underway to centralize Amazon purchases through the school finance office. Members also identified vendors for school food services and noted the schools use a different refuse vendor than the city; the auditor agreed to research RFP responses to explain the split vendors.
On software and systems, the auditor explained the city migrated Munis to the cloud and added modules (GrantMaster, Contract Manager, utility billing), which increased Munis‑related spending; training and cloud services appear as large year‑to‑date costs.
The committee then moved, seconded and approved a request that the auditor and CFO compile all FY26 purchase orders and related invoices from specified private law firms (Murphy, Lamoree & Murphy; Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane; and others) connected to the Boys and Girls Club easement matter, so the committee can review legal spending and delays tied to that project. The chair said the firms had been paid substantial sums and asked staff to present the records at the next accounts meeting. The motion was seconded and the committee voted in favor.
Other warrant items discussed included a $6,643.59 purchase order for a metal detector at Brockton High School, library purchases of video games, and grant‑funded food expenditures for community school events.
