Warwick committees press departments on bidding, inventory and vehicle purchases

At the Feb. 23 meeting, council committees pressed department leaders for clearer documentation and better procurement outreach across several items in the city's bid package.

Fuel and fleet Assistant Chief Alman presented the fire department's fuel bid (2026‑353C) and explained the department's practice of establishing a purchase‑order draw‑down at the start of the fiscal year; the department recommended awarding to Mirabo Energy Products in a contract not to exceed $250,000. Council asked the department to clarify pricing mechanics, incumbrance balances and urged limiting non‑emergency vehicle use while prices are elevated.

Vehicles and public‑works bids Public Works asked to purchase a Peterbilt cabin chassis for the Water Division. Council members quickly found comparable, complete dump trucks with bodies available at lower prices online and voted in committee to recommend unfavorable action and require a public bid. The committee asked departments to explain total cost and to rebid the item so the city can compare full‑body trucks with chassis‑only purchases before using master‑price agreements.

Dispatch consoles and mental‑health co‑responder contract The police department requested $170,000 to replace 22‑year‑old dispatch consoles with ergonomically upgraded units that support statewide dispatch upgrades. Council also reviewed a 566 exception to renew a co‑responder mental‑health clinician contract with Thrive Behavioral Health ($82,768.80), a subcontracted clinician embedded with officers. Council requested confirmation of clinician credentials and how the unit is invoiced; staff said Thrive manages clinician payroll and benefits under the subcontract.

Procurement and inventory concerns Public commenters and council members repeatedly raised two crosscutting issues: (1) the low number of competitive responses for common items (notably ammunition) and (2) uneven compliance with inventory ordinances (sections 5620/5621 in the city code). Council members asked staff to audit vendor outreach processes (posting venues and vendor lists), and several urged department heads to provide timely inventory reports showing on‑hand supplies. Several small items in the packet were held for invoice clarification (e.g., sales tax on equipment repair) and several larger items were pulled for separate committee action.

What happens next: The council asked staff to provide better pre‑bid outreach to local vendors, clarified that certain purchases should go out for competitive bid rather than be purchased off a state master agreement, and asked departments to provide more detailed inventories when seeking large operational purchases.