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Middletown leaders defer overhaul of purchasing ordinance after directors warn of operational risks
Summary
Directors and department staff told the General Counsel Commission on March 31 that a proposed rewrite of the city purchasing ordinance was not workshopped and could slow time‑sensitive operations. The commission directed attorneys and staff to meet offline and produce a mark‑up for the April 10 meeting.
MIDDLETOWN — Middletown officials paused an effort to overhaul the city’s purchasing ordinance after several department directors and staff told the General Counsel Commission that they had not been afforded a meaningful workshop and that the proposed changes could hamper operations.
During a special March 31 meeting, Christine Mark, director of economic and community development, said the proposal had not been workshopped with affected departments and warned it would be “detrimental” and “not an effective way of going about this.” Several other directors, including Joe Fazzino, director of water and sewer, and the city’s police chief, told the commission that multi‑year projects, accreditation timelines and time‑sensitive change orders require operational flexibility that they feared the draft ordinance would restrict.
Attorney Smith, who presented the general counsel office’s draft, described the approach as a repeal‑and‑replace: simplify definitions, separate ‘‘bids’’ (apples‑to‑apples procurements) from negotiable services, and fold much administration into a streamlined ordinance. Smith said the draft was “for discussion” and intended to emphasize three purposes: fairness and consistency, best value for taxpayers, and support for local businesses.
Directors and purchasing staff raised detailed questions about definitions (for example, the distinction between a bidder and a proposer), recommended dollar thresholds for informal versus formal procurements, cooperative purchasing, sole‑source rules and the reporting of multiyear contracts. Purchasing staff noted current practice uses state cooperative contracts and term bids to maintain continuity on recurring services. Several speakers urged the council to preserve a requirement for three quotes in practical cases and to require council review if a department seeks a waiver.
The chair acknowledged the disagreement between the council and the administration and directed attorneys and staff to meet with directors offline to produce a revised mark‑up. The chair asked for that mark‑up by the end of the week and said the commission would consider the revised language at its April 10 meeting. The chair also stated that multiyear contract treatment should be embedded in the ordinance as a ‘‘nonnegotiable’’ element.
There was no ordinance vote at the March 31 meeting. The commission did vote, earlier in the agenda, to allow the purchasing supervisor to participate in the dialogue while the ordinance was discussed.
What’s next: attorneys from the general counsel’s office, purchasing staff and department directors will meet offline to reconcile the draft and operational concerns; the group is to provide a revised draft for the commission’s April 10 meeting.
Notes on attribution: Quotes and assertions in this story are taken directly from the meeting transcript. Where a speaker did not supply a full name, the article uses the functional role (for example, “the chair,” “purchasing staff,” or “the police chief”) to match the meeting record. The transcript used both "Milltown" and "Middletown"; this article uses the standard local spelling "Middletown."
