ORANGE, Ohio — Village Treasurer Dana Kavander says the finance department is working on improvements to its process for management of contracts to try to avoid future errors like the one that resulted in Village Council’s ratifying a contract that was actually signed by the former mayor more than a year earlier.
On Wednesday (Feb. 12), Kavander said she felt it was important to clarify some information that was disclosed on Feb. 5.
That’s when council ratified the execution of a five-year contract with Flock Group Inc. for the purchase of license plate reader (LPR) cameras, software and attendant services for a total cost not to exceed $112,500.
The contract covers the cost of nine LPR cameras for the Orange Police Department, for a total of $22,500 per year, Police Chief Michael Roberts said.
The issue is that the village has an ordinance that requires council approval for contracts that exceed $15,000 in a given year.
Former Mayor Kathy U. Mulcahy signed this five-year contract — effective January 2024 through 2028 — in December 2023 because the invoice reflected a $9,500 discount for 2024 that resulted in the village being charged just $13,000 for that year only, Roberts said Feb. 5.
On Wednesday, Kavander — who did not attend the Feb. 5 meeting — said the contract had been reviewed by Law Director Stephen Byron, with no changes recommended, then signed by Mulcahy.
The contract was then returned to the vendor for signature, she said.
A two-year contract for the Flock cameras that originally came to the police department in 2021, at a cost of $22,500 per year, was approved by council in 2021, Kavander said.
The payments in accordance with that contract were made in 2021 and 2022, she said.
There was no contract in place for 2023 because, as Roberts explained Feb. 5, Flock provided its service at no cost for that year due to concerns that had been expressed by the police department about the level of service.
All contracts are maintained by the office of the executive assistant to the mayor, Kavander said.
But the five-year contract in question was signed and returned to the police department without the knowledge of Anna Girardi, executive assistant to the mayor, she said.
“Had this occurred, (Girardi) would have made sure the contract was added to the council’s agenda for approval,” Kavander said.
“(Girardi) would also have sent copies of the contract and council’s approval to (the finance department) before any payments are approved.”
The only individuals who were aware of this contract were an unidentified employee, former Police Chief Chris Kostura and Mulcahy, Kavander said.
“I and (Girardi) did not know about the contract being signed,” she said.
In 2024, the first year of the agreement, a requisition was entered into the finance department for about $13,000 for the Flock cameras, Kavander said.
The amount was reduced from the annual $22,500 due to the discount offered by Flock, she said.
“No mention of a contract was made at this time,” she said.
“So my office, not knowing that there was a contract in existence, saw an expenditure of $13,000, and finance processed the payment upon the approval of Mayor (Judson) Kline, as the amount was within his spending authority.”
This year, in year two of the contract, a requisition was requested by the police department for $22,500 for Flock camera services, Kavander said.
“At this point, questions were asked about a contract and council approval prior to the start of payment processing,” she said.
“At this time, it was discovered that there was a contract signed in 2023 for Flock services.”
On Feb. 5, Councilwoman Kim Ullner expressed concerns about the process that allowed this error to happen.
“I am suggesting that we need a sort of check and balance system so that this doesn’t happen again in the future,” Ullner said.
Kavander said Wednesday that she believes the finance department’s check and balance system has worked as designed.
“The procedures that the finance office had in place caught the error,” she said.
“But in looking at it, we realized that the contract management side of things had a weakness. There was a lack of communication in terms of what was going on.
“So we’re in the process of updating the procedures.”
Kavander said a memo has been sent to all department heads that indicates:
When any contract is sent to the law director for review, it is also sent to the executive assistant to the mayor’s office to track the process, ensure contracts obtain the mayor’s approval for items within his spending authority or obtain council’s approval, as appropriate.
Once these items are completed, the executive assistant to the mayor will obtain all signatures and maintain all contracts for the village, she said.
The executive assistant will then provide copies of the contract and council or mayor approval to the department head overseeing the contract, as well as the finance department, before payment is processed, she added.
In addition, the finance department will include a flowchart and explanation of purchasing, contract maintenance and payment processing procedures for all departments to follow, Kavander said.
“We wanted to tighten up this contract management side of things to make sure this didn’t happen again,” she said.
Kline said another layer has been added to the process this year regarding the flow of approvals for requests for payment on items that come through the various departments.
“They go through a hierarchical process that will go from the department head to the office of the treasurer for approval to make sure that they are properly budgeted within the budget and the amounts consistent with it, and then they will come to me for signature for approval,” he said.
Bid awarded for asphalt road repairs
In other action, council awarded the bid for the village’s 2025 asphalt road repair program to Ronyak Paving of Burton, in an amount not to exceed $799,545.
Village Engineer Brian Mader said the program is essentially the resurfacing of Brainard Road, beginning at Emery Road and ending at the north corporation line.
No work will take place in the Harvard Road intersection, he said.
Mader said the village received six “very favorable” bids from contractors, and Ronyak submitted the lowest and best bid.
“Ronyak did our program last year very well,” he said. “There were no real issues with them.
“We’ve had a really good work history with them over the years. I strongly recommend them for the work.”
Mader said the program will not result in any road closures or detours because it’s “a straight-up resurfacing.”
“There will be advance notification with electronic signs announcing the project well ahead of when the construction actually starts,” he said.
Dump truck chassis purchased
Also on Wednesday, council approved the purchase of a 2025 dump truck chassis from Rush Truck Centers of Parma for a total amount not to exceed $116,084.
The purchase is part of an Ohio Department of Transportation contract for 2023-24, Service Director Bob Zugan said.
“This is a planned replacement for one of (the service department’s) large dump trucks,” Zugan said. “It will be replacing a 2005 unit.”
Zugan said the truck is a multi-use vehicle that will be outfitted with snow and ice removal equipment in 2026.
“This is part of our five-year infrastructure plan for capital equipment,” he said, adding it will be a “two-year expenditure.”
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