Purchase threshold drives car argument

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp’s new $64,000 government vehicle was a brief focal point Wednesday during a debate about whether commissioners should increase the county’s purchasing threshold from $25,000 to $50,000.

Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, said he plans to vote against the measure, stating it would reduce com- mission over- sight of county purchases. As an example, he broached the topic of Wamp’s car, alleging the purchase never came before the board because the lease payments stretch over multiple fiscal years and thereby fell below the existing $25,000 limit.

“I, too, want the mayor to drive a nice vehicle,” Graham said, “but my point is that it needs to come before this body. It needs to be discussed in an open forum, and our constituents need to know how or where we’re spending the money.”

Graham said many constituents in his district struggle to pay their taxes.

“(It) really concerns me that we’re heading towards a tax increase,” he said. “A tax increase doesn’t happen overnight. It’s like a drip in a bucket. … What concerns me is the mom and the dad and the grandparents in Alton Park and East Lake and Lookout Valley that can’t pay their taxes.”

Wamp called talk of a tax increase hyperbole.

“I can guarantee you we’re not heading towards a big tax increase anytime soon if I have anything to do with it,” Wamp said. “Similarly, the threats or even the innuendo that we are going to go over budget or that a change in procurement rules would cause anything to go over budget is a fundamental misunderstanding about how budgeting works in the county.”

“It would be a relief to the purchasing and procurement department to be able to focus on the larger projects that we have … and it would just really cut the red tape that we suffer on a daily basis.”

– CHRISTY COOPER, HAMILTON COUNTY GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR

He also downplayed the idea that his vehicle purchase lacked scrutiny.

“It’s not like there hasn’t been enough publicity around the vehicle that I’m driving that was acquired after we couldn’t find a large vehicle anywhere in America,” the mayor replied.

Wamp also took issue with Graham’s claim the vehicle cost more than $70,000.

“The thing did not cost what you speculated it did,” Wamp said. “If you had called me — you’re my commissioner — I would have told you the invoice was for $64,000. A lot of money. I wish we could have bought a Tahoe for $50,000, but at the time we didn’t even get to pick the color. We just took the first one we could find.”

The Chattanooga Times Free Press asked for a copy of the purchase order for the Chevrolet Tahoe, and the mayor’s office asked for the newspaper to submit a public record request. The newspaper did so promptly but has not received the document yet.

The panel is set to vote on a resolution next week that would require public advertisement and sealed competitive bids or proposals for purchases of $50,000 or more — an increase over the current $25,000 threshold. Purchases below $50,000 would be solely awarded by the county’s director of procurement, according to the proposed resolution, and those above $50,000 would go to the County Commission for approval.

County staff and supporters on the commission have stated the change would speed up projects, save money, ensure smaller companies can competitively compete for bids and keep the county in line with changes made by other local governments across Tennessee. A state law passed in May 2022 authorizes local governments to make that change to their purchasing thresholds.

All purchases between $20,000 and $50,000 would require at least three written quotations, the resolution states, and the procurement director would be required to report monthly on all purchases that fall between the range of $25,000 to $50,000. The changes would not affect the threshold for professional legal services, which would continue to require oversight from commissioners at the $25,000 limit.

Commissioner Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah, is pushing for those adjustments to the county’s purchasing rules and argued during the meeting Wednesday that the resolution would not reduce commission oversight.

He added that the existing $25,000 limit is having a tangible effect on county residents, stating that children are being turned away from playing youth baseball games, for example, because officials can’t receive the bids necessary to upgrade or add fields.

“We cannot handcuff the administrators from doing their roles,” Eversole said, noting that he would be willing to reduce the proposed threshold to $40,000 if that’s the preference of his colleagues. “My goal is that we’re not putting our administration in a position where we’re losing bids and causing our taxpayers to not get services that we’ve told them we’re going to provide.”

The request also comes as costs continue to increase for Hamilton County, Eversole noted. In 2016, the county had 1,140 purchase requests that averaged about $8,700. In 2022, the county had 1,879 purchase requests that averaged $36,000, and so far there have been 1,521 purchase requests in 2023 at an average of more than $40,000.

“As costs have risen through the years, we have to make these adjustments from time to time to keep up with things or we just continue to go backwards,” Procurement Director Jerald Carpenter told commissioners. “A lot of times when we have smaller vendors … the regulations and restrictions and the complexity of putting together large bids is cumbersome.”

General Services Administrator Christy Cooper told commissioners it can be unwieldy to go through the process of issuing a request for proposals for routine needs like sod, gravel or fencing.

“It would be a huge benefit to my department,” she said of the proposed changes. “It would be a relief to the purchasing and procurement department to be able to focus on the larger projects that we have … and it would just really cut the red tape that we suffer on a daily basis.”

Most similar-sized cities and counties have already made the adjustments, county staff have noted, including Shelby, Anderson and Knox counties and the cities of Knoxville, Memphis and Chattanooga.

County Commissioner Ken Smith, R-Hixson, also sits on the Chattanooga City Council and told his colleagues Wednesday that, although he raised similar concerns when city officials opted to boost Chattanooga’s competitive bid threshold last summer, the change ended up being for the good.

“I’ve seen money be saved, I’ve seen processes sped up, I’ve seen more businesses — specifically minority-owned, low-resource businesses — being involved in … city contracts,” Smith said. “I have seen the benefit it brings to our community.”

Wamp declined to be interviewed later in the day, but his office issued a statement.

“While our office continues to work hand in hand with commissioners like Jeff Eversole and Dr. Warren Mackey on important proposals to improve benefits for law enforcement and to provide housing for women recovering from addiction, it’s unfortunate that Joe Graham’s inaccurate diatribe about the county’s purchasing rules distracts from the good work we are doing for the people of Hamilton County,” the statement said.

“Like other elected officials, the mayor’s county vehicle is one of 210 leased vehicles in the county fleet and was acquired in full compliance with existing purchasing rules.”