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Council denies library‑plaque reimbursement after procurement concerns; approves pizza for volunteers
Summary
After questions about an invoice, missing documentation and purchasing rules, the Town Council voted to deny reimbursement to a councilor for library plaques (about $3,063.94) and approved payment for a volunteer appreciation pizza party that the town manager said he had authorized.
The Southington Town Council on Monday voted to deny a reimbursement request for library‑project plaques and to approve payment for a volunteer appreciation pizza party following council debate over procurement procedures and documentation.
Councilors raised multiple procedural objections to the plaques request: the invoice in the packet listed the payee as the "Southern Town Committee," the estimate and invoice dates predated committee meetings, there was no documentation that three quotes were solicited for a purchase above the town's purchasing threshold, and council members could not find a cleared check showing payment to the vendor. One councilor said splitting invoices or dividing charges to stay below thresholds was "alarming." The invoice amount in the meeting packet is $3,063.94.
"Splitting the invoices, having a party, and then it was kind of done... It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me," a councilor said while asking the town manager about procurement records. Town Manager Alex Riccardone said he did not have documentation of a vendor check in the packet and asked to verify the paperwork.
On the separate item for a volunteer thank‑you pizza party, Riccardone said he had authorized paying for the food from program funds before the expenditure. Several councilors said they supported thanking volunteers; others objected to informal approvals without written requests. The council voted to approve payment for the pizza (the motion passed with a majority and several abstentions recorded in the roll call) and later voted to deny reimbursement for the plaques after discussion.
The clerk was asked to include the full packet materials and communications in the minutes; councilors asked staff to provide missing documentation and clarify procurement steps for committee purchases before any future reimbursement is considered.
The council recorded the plaque vote as a denial; the pizza vote was approved but councilors asked that controls and documentation be strengthened going forward.
Next steps: town staff to locate or supply any missing vendor checks and communications, and the clerk to include packet materials in the official minutes.
