Under Suspension: Thoughtful Planning

The last meeting of the year is usually a fairly quiet event, and the Monday, December 20, meeting of the Common Council was no exception – excluding one item placed under suspension. Agenda items that are placed under suspension, meaning those that weren't submitted in time to be placed on the regular meeting calendar, are usually innocuous but needful, including stop signs and handicapped parking resolutions. This was not the case when the Mayor slipped a major piece of business under suspension, effectively asking members to make a “quickie” decision regarding the purchase of two dump truck/snow plows at a cost of more than $252,000.

Al Borgonzi, City Services Department Head, made a good case for the purchase; the fleet of snowplows in the city is certainly aging, and two critical pieces of equipment would need more than $40,000 in repairs, representing a Band-Aid approach, given that both trucks were purchased in 1988. City Auditor Frank Coppola presented the thinking in choosing purchasing over leasing, while opining that low interests rates made short-term borrowing a reasonable course of action.

What wasn’t reasonable was placing this important piece of business under suspension. While a number of members asked a few thoughtful questions, it would have been a far more in-depth and considered discussion had members been given the time and opportunity to review the request. Given the budget woes of the city, and the School Department’s propensity to overspend each and every year, Council members had to be a little put out by this last-minute request by Mayor Ragucci. While no one could argue the necessity of buying the equipment – it is, after all, a public safety issue -- one can certainly fault the Mayor or Mr. Borgonzi for waiting until the snow was on the ground to address the issue.

The Board of Alderman will take this piece of business up as a part of their regular business Tuesday evening, December 28.