Carlisle council directs rewrite of purchasing rules, orders department-specific vehicle-home policies

At its Feb. 9 meeting the Carlisle City Council directed staff to rewrite portions of the city purchasing policy and to return departmental language on take-home vehicle rules for review on March 23, 2026.

City Administrator Deven Markley explained the proposal to tighten purchasing practice, particularly to improve the city’s process for acquiring used equipment. Councilmember Andrya Carter asked staff to update section 2B, add new subsections (2C and 2D) and include a definition of "operational" to close an identified gap for purchases between $500 and $2,499.99. Carter and Markley were assigned to draft specific wording and bring it back for placement on the consent agenda.

Councilmember Beth Sauter raised concerns about past practice allowing department heads — including the fire and police chiefs — to take city vehicles home and said she did not want that to become an open-ended employee benefit. Markley told the council the personnel handbook currently permits the city administrator to make preapprovals. Sauter asked for department-specific policy language and a 30-day timeframe to re-present the matter; the council directed department heads to work with Markley and scheduled the item for the March 23 meeting.

The council also discussed human-resources changes tied to this effort: Sauter and other members sought contracts for department heads, annual job-description reviews and a standardized employee performance-review process. Staff were directed to update job descriptions and return the standardized review proposal to council by June 22, 2026.

The actions were procedural directions rather than votes on final policy. The council did not adopt new policy language at the Feb. 9 meeting; it requested draft language and set deadlines for further consideration.