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Keene council authorizes $85,000 public‑works benchmarking contract; councilor asks for explanatory details
Summary
The council authorized the city manager to negotiate and sign a contract with Matrix Consulting Group for up to $85,000 to conduct benchmarking and a strategic plan for the Public Works Department; Councilor Challis said constituents questioned the cost and requested explanatory bullet points from the public works director.
The Keene City Council voted unanimously to allow the city manager to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement with Matrix Consulting Group for a public‑works benchmarking and strategic plan project in an amount not to exceed $85,000.
Councilor Thomas F. Powers, presenting the Finance, Organization and Personnel committee recommendation, described the consultant review as “the right way to do business” and said the process gives an outside set of eyes to review operations after an RFP and competitive interviews.
Councilor Michelle A. Chalice Challis (transcript: Challis) voiced constituent concern over the $85,000 price and asked for a short set of bullet points from the public works director that councilors could share with residents. Challis said she had already requested the information and offered to email the points to colleagues. The city manager said materials were being distributed to all councilors.
The committee vote was 5–0 and the full council approved the authorization without recorded dissent. Councilors said the expense is in the Public Works budget and emphasized that staff will provide explanatory materials to address resident concerns.
Next steps include finalizing the contract terms and beginning the benchmarking and planning work under the city's contract administration process.
