Camas candidate says city broke law

Camas candidate says city broke law

 

So why wasn’t the city doing what was right before Pike blew the whistle?

Funny how NOW, once Pike brings the issue to light, a city official states “ beginning in October, the city will call for a formal bid on the caustic soda”. It appears to me they have been getting away with this sort of thing for a long time. If Pike can discover this one incident, how many other incidents of city impropriety is occurring in the City government that has not surfaced yet?

“…it’s sad because it’s at the expense of some good people,” Dennis said Tuesday.”  What’s Dennis talking about?  Are these good people the ones NOT spending our tax dollars wisely and in compliance to state law OR are these “good people” the ones who are supposed to be administering our tax dollars in compliance with law?  What’s he talking about? Unfortunately, we’ll never get an answer from him.  

Time for an audit of City procurement processes.

 

Camas candidate says city broke law

Published in The Columbia, Wednesday, September 19, 2007
BY DEAN BAKER, Columbian staff writer

CAMAS – Councilwoman Liz Pike has turned up the heat on her political campaign by issuing a press release that charges city officials failed to follow state law in buying a water-purifying agent at a cost of $60,000 that was an unnecessary expense.

City officials said neither they nor state auditors have found any violations. They said they are examining their purchasing practices, but see no way that $60,000 could have been saved in buying the chemical that reduces copper pipe erosion.

Mayor Paul Dennis, who faces a challenge from Pike in the November election, said her charge is a political smear.

“To me, this is someone in desperation mode, trying to get votes, and it’s sad because it’s at the expense of some good people,” Dennis said Tuesday.

“This was brought up last night at city council,” he said. “Obviously, she sent the press release and then brought it to council. It’s a shame the council didn’t get a chance to respond before it hit the papers. It would have been more respectful.”

Pike said in the Monday press release that purchase of the soda should have been put out to bid. She said a Longview supplier, Equa-chlor, would have been selected if a bid process had been followed.

Pike said the Dennis administration failed in three ways: It didn’t go out to bid, didn’t consider a significantly more favorable offer and didn’t give special consideration to a Washington-based company.

“There is evidence that a lack of accountability exists in the purchasing practices of this administration,” Pike wrote. “Unfortunately, there may be other ‘no-bid’ contracts present in Camas. This practice must stop.”

City Public Works Director Monte Brachmann said the city didn’t call for bids on the chemical because the amounts of the orders didn’t merit a bid process. He said the city received from Equa-chlor an unsolicited e-mail quoting a price per pound for the chemical. “We didn’t respond to that,” he said.

The city has bought the chemical from two companies that do other business in Washington, Brachmann said: a wholesaler, Northstar Chemical, of Sherwood, Ore., and Univar, based in Portland. Northstar also has operations in Washington state and Univar is a national company, he said.

 Official: Process complex

Brachmann said the city’s purchase of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda ) is complex. It involves services from the company as well as the chemical supply. He the city paid about $65,000 for the chemical and services in the past year.

“Northstar has provided more than just the chemical,” he said. “They have provided safety training for our employees, they have provided ‘pump out’ service and storage of the product when there was a problem with one of our tanks, and they have provided input on the proper layout of our facilities for the safety of our workers and theirs. Our operators feel that the service is a larger part of the picture rather than just the delivery of the product. That is the story behind where we are today with purchasing.”

Brachmann said the invoices from 2006 and 2007 show that deliveries of the chemical ran from $309 to $3,738 and totaled about $65,000 in 2006. He said the city’s policy calls for two quotes for any purchase between $7,500 and $15,000 and for formal bidding for any purchase over $15,000. He said the policy wasn’t clear on whether that amount should be applied to each load delivered or to the total annual purchase.

In the future, beginning in October, the city will call for a formal bid on the caustic soda, he said. “Ms. Pike brought this bidding inquiry to my attention on Sept. 4,” Brachmann said. “We checked out what our purchasing practice is, confirmed what we should be doing, and we are going to do what is right.”

 Dean Baker writes about Camas. Reach him at 360-759-8009 or e-mail dean.baker@columbian.com

 

 

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