An uncharacteristically contentious debate gripped the Crown Point City Council for about 90 minutes on Monday over some members wanting greater oversight and control of escalating contracts, legal fees and work change orders as currently approved by the city’s Board of Works.
But in the end, the council, department heads and other elected officials agreed to work more cooperatively to practice greater transparency across financial matters.
City Council President Dawn Stokes, D-2nd, brought an ordinance to the floor that would have given the council the power to approve or deny Board of Works expenditures of $25,000 or more. Effectively, the Board of Works, as a purchasing agency of the city, would act only as an “advisory” to the council on approving certain expenditures.
Stokes, frustrated at the lack of oversight to Board of Works actions, reasoned that it is the fiscal duty of each council member to understand how the city is spending its money and to have a mechanism to keep it under control.
“We get paid to do this,” she said, adding that Mayor Pete Land has been quite open and transparent on financial matters.
However, council members expressed frustration that in the prior administration of Mayor David Uran various contracts were not readily available for review and therefore had no control over spending.
“In the past, when we asked for specific contracts, we were told that we did not have a right to see them,” said Councilwoman Laura Sauerman, R-4th.
Stokes noted that the council entertained a similar ordinance four years ago that Uran vetoed. She believed she had the votes to pass the ordinance this time around. However, she acknowledged that the vote tally would likely be short of a five-vote supermajority to prohibit Land from casting a veto.
Land did not indicate whether he would veto the ordinance, but cautioned what effect it would have on the speed the city’s government needs to operate. He was joined by several city department heads in emphasizing that it could take up to 45 days to approve Board of Works expenditures and thereby add considerable time and bureaucracy to the process.
Councilman Andrew Kyres, D-3rd, who is the mayoral appointment to the Board of Works, said that while he understood the council’s desire for greater fiscal oversight, the ordinance would be detrimental to how the city government needs to operate. He, along with City Attorney David Nicholls, contended that the ordinance was improperly written according to the advice of the State Board of Accounts.
“I think this matter can be addressed, but not in this way,” Kyres said.
PACE Administrator Adam Graper said that city departments “would get nothing done” if the ordinance passed. He presented a slide showing the current 12-step approval process for reviewing and approving expenditures, which includes both the Board of Works and the City Council voting.
Given assurances from the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office that contracts and the like would be readily available to council members, Stokes withdrew her motion on the floor. Afterward, she expressed satisfaction that the message got through.
“I think we accomplished everything we needed to tonight,” she said. “I believe the clerk’s office will get us every document we need in a timely manner, and I will be proactive in requesting them.”
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
