Citizens
for Better Government
Blount
County Tennessee
|
|
A $17,000 Phone, or Food
for the Elderly? At the November Financial Management Committee, we saw another example of an inadequate County policy, and its heart wrenching impact on some of our most needy citizens. It
seems that the Sheriff’s Department proposed to purchase a phone, on a sole
source basis, for $17,350. The price tag captured the attention of everyone
present. What kind of phone costs $17,350? A rescue phone, we were told. One
commissioner remembered that we had purchased a rescue phone, a few years
ago, for less than $10,000. Yes, we were told, but that one is broken.
Another commissioner observed that the old phone was rarely used, and asked
how it could be broken. No one present knew the answer. The Mayor asked
whether anyone had looked at getting the old phone repaired. No one knew the
answer to that either. One
of the Commissioners started to introduce a resolution to ask for more
information about this $17350 phone. But, the Budget Director told everyone
that it was too late. He said the purchase had already been made. He
explained that the County purchasing policy does not require any prior
Committee or Commission approval of sole source purchases. The Committee
discussion ended on a general note of frustration. Subsequent
investigation tells us that a rescue phone is an ordinary corded phone,
attached to a 1000 foot reel of cable, with a box on the other end, into
which several headsets can be plugged. It is intended for hostage
negotiations. According to the sales brochure, the phone can be put inside an
optional steel case and thrown through a window. The brochure also told us
that this phone is priced at only $5000! How
then did we get to $17,350? Well, in addition to the phone, the County bought
nearly every option, including the $600 steel “throw case. One would think
that these options would have been left over from the old “broken phone”, but
I guess the Sheriff wanted everything new. In
addition, the County bought a second rescue phone at a price of
$10,000. This one is the latest, hi-tech model with five small TV cameras
buried in the phone, a TV monitor and another 1000 feet of cable! That
is how you get to $17,350 for a couple of phones. All
this would just be another example of inadequate County policies leading to
questionable spending, except for what came later on the Committee agenda. Representatives
of the Mobile Meals program came to the Committee seeking $15,725 to feed an
additional 25 of our needy senior citizens for a year. The Committee had to
reluctantly turn down their request because the County fund balance is so
low. The
Commission represents the will of the people. Do the people think it is
the will of the people that the Sheriff buy a $17350 phone, while we are
unable to provide meals for our needy seniors? What
can the Commission do to prevent this from happening in the future? Perhaps, they
should consider revising the purchasing policy to require a review of a sole
source purchase before the order is placed. The
need
for policies in the County seems to be controversial. It should not be.
Policies set standards of expected behavior. Yes, the office holders are not
required to follow these standards. But if they don’t, the people will judge
them accordingly. One
thing is for sure, if the Commission does not set standards, anything goes.
The purchase of a bogus diploma with $3910 of County money should make that
clear to everyone. |