At their meeting Monday night, Sackville town council passed first reading of a bylaw to update the town’s policies and procedures around purchasing and procurement, but not before Coun. Bruce Phinney expressed his concerns that a new system for council oversight leaves the town worse off.

Bylaw No. 278, “A By-Law to Regulate Purchasing, Leasing, Tendering and Disposal of Surplus Property, Equipment and Materials,” hasn’t been updated since 1997. The changes proposed would bring Sackville’s bylaws in line with changes in the provincial Procurement Act, which now allows a threshold of $100,000 before requiring a public tendering process.

The changes also adjust the upper limits of spending that staff is authorized to make without a motion of council. Those limits would go from $6,000 to $10,000 for non-public works expenses, and would remain at $25,000 for expenses related to public works.

Overall spending would still, of course, need to fall within the council approved budget.

The bylaw sounds innocuous enough, but one procedural change ruffled some feathers on council, and led Coun. Bruce Phinney to vote against the motion to approve first reading.

Before the pandemic hit, it was the practice for individual councillors to sign all paid invoices coming out of the town department where they served as liaison councillor. The invoices were already paid, but the signature served as a sort of oversight after-the-fact. When the pandemic struck, and councillors were no longer frequenting town hall, the system changed so that a list of paid invoices for all departments was emailed to all councillors. This new system is the one proposed in Bylaw 278, and it’s one that Coun. Bruce Phinney takes issue with.

Phinney first spoke out against the new purchasing system at last week’s discussion meeting of council.

“It’s almost like they’re taking things right out of the hands of councillors,” said Phinney on March 1. “And management seems to be taking over completely. And I don’t think that’s a good way of running an organization.”

That comment rubbed Coun. Bill Evans the wrong way.

Evans supports the changes in Bylaw 278, and had actually taken issue with the invoice-signing system back in 2019 when he became liaison councillor with public works. Evans says that he saw no useful purpose for signing invoices that had already been paid, and he also felt it inappropriate for individual councillors to take on the role of approving expenditures, even if after the fact.

“We have a budget process whereby a budget is approved by council, and staff are tasked with acting on the direction of council, following practices approved by Council, and which meet the approval of our auditors,” said Evans Monday night. “Staff members with signing authority approve expenditures. Invoices get paid, budget lines get charged and progress is reported back to council. In my opinion, a councillor cannot and should not be part of this operational process.”

Monday night, Evans challenged Phinney to explain his position that the new policy somehow took control away from councillors and gave it to staff.

Phinney replied that he liked the idea of seeing the town’s purchase orders, as it gave him a chance to see who the town was doing business with.

“And sometimes, I have found mistakes over the years,” said Phinney. “I’ve taken them and reported into our treasurer, Mr. Beal. He’s thanked me for bringing them to the forefront.”

“By taking the POs out of our hands, we don’t see who we’re doing business with, or how much money is going to these companies, and what we’re paying them," he added.

Phinney referred to a recent case of embezzlement in Sackville, and indicated that the signed invoice system was a form of checks and balances that could help prevent something similar happening with the town.

Coun. Allison Butcher chimed in to clarify what was being proposed, and point out that the new system would involve sharing more information with councillors, not less.

When she was liaison council for recreation, said Butcher, if she signed the invoice for the purchase of fireworks for the Fall Fair, then she would have been the only councillor to see the invoice.

“With these new protocols that are in place, at the end of each month, and email will be sent out to all of council–every one of us, not just the liaison councillors–that will let us know what has been spent, what those things are that happened the month before,” said Butcher on Monday.

“It seems to me that this new way that we’re proposing of doing it would actually mean that council as a whole is aware of what is happening,” said Butcher. “Whereas in the past, the onus was on the particular liaison councillor to do the checks and balances, as Coun. Phinney says.”

Coun. Shawn Mesheau spoke up in favour of the new system, which would allow all of council to review invoices over $1,000, but he also stressed that it is still the responsibility of the liaison councillors to have particular understanding of the spending going on in their department.

“Whether it’s happening or not,” said Mesheau on Monday, “I think there’s a responsibility on any individual councillor to be aware of that information. And especially if you’re the liaison councillor or councillors who are assigned to that particular portfolio.”

In the end, council approved the first reading of Bylaw 278, with Coun. Phinney the only vote in opposition.

The bylaw will be back for second and third reading next month.