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10/03/2017 04:30 PMIn an effort to coordinate purchasing and other town functions, First Selectman Tom Banisch renewed the discussion about the need for a town purchasing manager at the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Sept. 25. While many on the board and in the audience agreed with the value of the position, some had different ideas on how to best implement or title such a position.
Banisch said he mentioned such a position before, and that the position would include responsibilities such as purchasing the town’s, and possibly the schools’ supplies, and managing other matters such as requests for proposals or requests for qualifications. Banisch said by coordinating matters like this between the town and the school, the town could save money.
“We don’t coordinate between the schools and the town right now and I think that is something that we need to look at, just on high volume things like paper and stationery,” he said. “That is one thing, but there are a lot of savings out there.”
Banisch said the human resources director is putting together a job description for the BOS to consider as part of its discussion.
While Banisch said such a position could lead to savings, some said he wasn’t thinking big enough. Gus Horvath, a town resident and former first selectman, said a chief administrative officer might be a better option going forward.
“What I am suggesting is that...you take a look at the information that was prepared when that position was established in the 2000 town charter, and consider this position or function as part of the position of the chief administration officer of the town,” he said.
Madison Police Chef Jack Drumm had a similar suggestion, suggesting a chief administrative officer or a town manager. Drumm said the town was “selling itself short” by only considering a purchasing position. A town manager position was included in the 2015 proposed town charter change that was defeated at referendum.
“I am just saying don’t just set your sights on a purchasing manager,” Drumm said. “Perhaps research what an administrator can do to make your job easier,” adding that a town manager “has the BOS as its oversight and this is a person who can work between the Capital Improvement Program and the Board of Finance and BOS and the other board directors and chiefs and bring this all together at budget time.”
Drumm said, after seven years in town, he knows there are some departments that don’t even do employee reviews and that when seeking suppliers, some department heads stop price investigations once they receive the state bid for the item—a price Drumm said is not always best. Drumm said a town manager-type position would help with efficiency and transparency.
Selectman Bob Hale said he thought the purchasing agent was a good idea, but other factors like inventory and storage need to be considered if the position is accepted. In addition, Hale said partnership needs to be considered with this position.
“This is another example where we could do some joint staffing between the Board of Education and the town…I think it is a great move and I would hope that we would start a committee to get this process going,” he said.
Selectman Al Goldberg said a purchasing agent is a great idea, but said the town should consider sharing a purchasing agent with other towns.
“Under a prior town administration, I had some conversations with Guilford about sharing their purchasing agent because their perception, at least at that time, was they really didn’t need this as a full time position, “ he said. “In addition, it occurred to us that by putting the purchasing volumes together of the two towns that we could actually have more leverage in the marketplace...[I]t might be productive to have a conversation with one or more neighboring towns to see if this is a position we might do jointly. I think there would be certain financial advantages in considering that.”