PACO and the Contracts

Nine contracts totaling more than half a million dollars for important services were withdrawn from the City Council agenda by the administration Monday due to lack of a Public Agency Compliance Officer.

Purchasing Agent David Spaulding had served in that role for several years, but on Feb. 6 a resolution to reappoint him failed to gain a council consensus to be put on the Feb. 13 agenda for a vote. Spaulding has been somewhat under scrutiny since he testified during an investigation into how the city paid $20,000 to WBLS for an Aug. 1, 2010 town meeting. Some of his answers appeared at odds with testimony by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, who said the radio broadcast was made in response to an "emergency" situation due to gun violence.

For those not up on what a PACO is, here is the state's definition:

2.1  Public Agency Compliance Officer
In accordance with N.J.A.C. 17:27-3.2 , each public agency shall designate an individual to serve as its Public Agency Compliance Officer or P.A.C.O. (see Attachment#2). The P.A.C.O. is the liaison between the Division and the Public Agency and is the Public Agency point of contact for all matters concerning implementation and administration of the statute. The P.A.C.O. is also responsible for administering contracting procedures pertaining to equal employment opportunity regarding both the Public Agency and the service providers. The service provider shall include but shall not be limited to goods and services vendors, professional service vendors and construction contractors. As such, the P.A.C.O. must have the authority to recommend changes to effectively support the implementation of the statue and its regulations.
Each year, all Public Agencies are required to submit the name, title, address, telephone, number, fax, and email address of the P.A.C.O. designated by the Public Agency. This information must be submitted to the Division no later than January 10th of each year. In addition, it shall be the responsibility of the Public Agency to update the P.A.C.O. designation at any time during the year if any changes are made concerning the designated P.A.C.O.

Click here for the full document on contract compliance.

The PACO does not have to be the purchasing agent, but the city must have a qualified one.

Items covered by the withdrawn contracts included hiring a law firm to do tax appeals; funding for an Edmunds financial services system; a consultant for housing repairs; renovations to police headquarters for a CCTV system; engineering services; emergency power systems for the police/Municipal Court complex; environmental investigation on Lee Place; a night supervision program for juvenile probationers; and a baseball field upgrade. As soon as the administration and council agree on a PACO, the contracts can be approved. The next regular City Council meeting is March 12.

--Bernice