SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
The city will not be breaking any contractual law if they release all tender amounts for any project as was stated by the city’s finance manager Bill McKennan during a council committee meeting in February.
McKennan said that he is updating the purchasing policy.
That change would potentially remove bid results from the purview of elected officials and the public.
According to Kevin Lee, press secretary for Ric McIvor, minister of Municipal Affairs, the “The Municipal Government Act (MGA) provides locally elected municipal councils in Alberta with the responsibility and autonomy to address a broad range of local issues.
“This includes the establishment of procurement policies and processes to ensure consistent and fair opportunities for vendors submitting tenders.
“There are provisions in place that ensure this process is transparent so municipal residents are aware of council decisions regarding expenditures and have the information necessary to hold them accountable for their decisions.”
In other words, Lee said, it is up to each municipality to set a policy to keep tenders either public or private.
Mayor John Petrie told The Bulletin he realizes there’s some inadequacies in that.
“It is coming back to the table. I think all the councillors want to see the tendering process,” he said.
