Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance And Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board reviews updated fee schedule, purchasing policy and excavation permit language
Summary
Staff proposed removing the Model Traffic Code text from the town fee schedule and referencing the current-year code, and presented a draft purchasing policy with thresholds ($0–1,000 dept heads, $1,000–$10,000 comparative quotes, >$10,000 formal bidding). Trustees asked clarifying edits on budgeted purchases, PPE reimbursements, and insisted on clearer status fields in the task list; staff will return with revised language.
Town staff presented proposed updates to the town fee schedule, purchasing policy and an excavation permit. The fee-schedule change would remove embedded Model Traffic Code pages and instead reference the current-year code to shorten the town document and expand the marshal's enforcement authority. "Model traffic code is 276 pages long... so that also expands what the marshal can enforce here in town," the clerk said.
The town manager proposed a purchasing policy that allows department heads to approve purchases under $1,000, comparative quotes for $1,000–$10,000, and formal bidding above $10,000; he also proposed reimbursement rules including GSA meal rates plus $5 and modest clothing allowances for field staff. Trustees debated whether purchases already budgeted (for example, a $50,000 equipment line) should still require board approval if a single purchase exceeds $10,000; trustees advocated clarifying the policy so that manager authority is bounded by the board-approved budget but that large single purchases trigger board approval when outside budgeted authority. Staff also presented an excavation permit draft that requires a bond to guarantee repairs; trustees asked staff to remove irrelevant curve diagrams before finalizing the form.
Board members requested clearer 'next action' fields on the task list and suggested staff add a PPE line item or clarify PPE provisioning in department budgets. Staff will revise the fee schedule, purchasing policy and excavation permit language and return them for board action at a future meeting.
