Commissioners question long-term contracts

The town’s contract with Coastal Planning & Engineering Inc. continued for 14 years before the Longboat Key Town Commission reached consensus to put its beach-engineering work out to bid in November. The town also used the same auditing firm, Shinn & Co., for 14 years before selecting the firm of Carr Riggs & Ingram as its new auditing firm.

Carr Riggs & Ingram will most likely finish its audit of the town in March, but one of the firm’s findings, thus far, caught the attention of the three commissioners who sit on the Audit Committee and met with CPA Charles Whetstone Thursday, March 1: The town has had many long-term contracts that haven’t gone out to bid in years.

Vice Mayor David Brenner said at the March 5 commission meeting that the town needs to look at many of its long-term contracts.

Brenner told the Longboat Observer that the town should probably review its contracts every three to five years, citing the example of the beach-engineering firm. Brenner also said that he would like the commission to look at its town attorney agreement. (The commission hires the town attorney, but the parties don’t have a contract.)

“I think most us are pretty pleased with the services, but I think we can both do him (town attorney David Persson) and us a favor to make sure that we’re both comfortable with the agreement,” Brenner said.

Commissioner Jack Duncan said he believes most contracts should go out to bid every three years ago, although he stressed the difference between putting projects out to bid and changing vendors. For example, he said that changing auditors every three years or so is good practice and generally the norm in business; the town may want to review its town attorney agreement periodically, however, without changing attorneys.

“You don’t want to change town attorneys every three years because the town attorney brings with him or her a tremendous amount of knowledge,” Duncan said.

Commissioner Lynn Larson said that she would like to see contracts reviewed every three years. She told the Longboat Observer that she would like to see contracts with vendors “that have been there the longest and the ones that are being paid the most” go out to bid first.