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Board of Estimate approves vendor contracts, grant and new payroll service
Summary
At its July 2 meeting the Board of Estimate approved CDM Smith’s 2026 hourly-rate update, a six-month contract amendment for police discovery support, acceptance of a $100,000 grant, Orange Bank & Trust billing services and PayServ payroll implementation with startup costs covered by the bank.
The Board of Estimate on July 2 approved a package of routine contracts and vendor proposals intended to support ongoing public-works projects and modernize town services. The board accepted CDM Smith’s 2026 hourly-rate schedule, approved a six-month, $88,500 contract amendment for on-site police discovery support, accepted a $100,000 grant and authorized vendor agreements for water-billing services and a new payroll vendor.
The hourly-rate update from CDM Smith drew brief discussion. Jacob (S3), the presenter, said the rate sheet was attached to the board memo and that many rates rose “a couple of dollars each hour,” citing examples such as a $66.25 line moving to $68.75 and other engineering categories increasing by small amounts. He told the board the firm bills hourly for ongoing projects including a sludge-optimization study, industrial pretreatment permitting and GIS asset-digitizing work.
Board members then approved an amendment to a contract with Cherry Rose for on-site support at the police station, a six-month engagement priced at $88,500 intended to address backlog created by recent changes in state discovery law. The board approved accepting a $100,000 grant into the town’s revenue line and authorized the disposal of surplus city equipment and of a police vehicle (Car 37) that officials said would not pass state inspection and was uneconomical to repair.
Leonora (S5), presenting the Orange Bank & Trust proposal, said the bank would cover printing, postage and mailing costs for water bills at no fee to the town and called the arrangement an opportunity to modernize bills and track delivery. “Our cost for printing and mailing and postage has increased significantly,” she said. Leonora told the board the program would allow the town to offer optional electronic billing and add more detail to mailed bills.
On payroll, Leonora described PayServ as a replacement for the town’s “outdated” payroll system. She said Orange Bank & Trust will cover the $5,000 startup cost and the first two payroll runs; PayServ’s annual cost was stated as $29,000. “This will reduce the burden on many departments,” Leonora said, adding that PayServ will process direct deposits, taxes and W-2s and work to import time-clock files to reduce discrepancies the town has seen.
Most items were approved by voice vote after motions were made and seconded. The board completed the remaining agenda items and adjourned.
The board’s next procedural step for any of the vendor agreements will be implementation by the responsible department and any required follow-up reporting; the meeting record shows approvals but not implementation timelines beyond the statements by staff about intended next steps.
