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Spurred by millions in over-budget spending in the past few years, the Board of Selectmen is keeping a tighter watch on where Public Works funds are going. The board recently finalized new protocols on overage spending for public works projects. At its meeting Tuesday morning, the board had a final discussion on the policy they previously approved that puts a limit on a construction project's contingency fund. But First Selectman Jeb Walker emphasized that this policy was not really new.
"The protocols that were approved were really just a formalization of the process that the Department of Public works and the Board of Finance have done for some time," Walker said. Under the official policy, contingency funds are capped at 15 percent of the project's total costs, and the DPW must inform the Board of Selectmen immediately if they are using the backup funds. Walker said that's been the procedure as long as he's been first selectman, but the recent vote made the protocol official.
The Board of Selectmen set up these protocols after realizing that more than $5 million in overages had been spent on road projects between 2004 and 2009. Selectwoman Sally Hines asked at Tuesday's meeting whether the board should look into these overages with the new policy in mind. But town attorney Chris Jarboe said it would be too time-consuming, and really not useful because the money had already been spent.
In the future, Walker said the Department of Public Works still has the freedom to dip into contingency funds for unexpected costs that come up with a project. Now, however, the first selectmen needs to be informed by official town law. "There are some things that are just common sense ... you run into a problem, and you do what you have to," Walker said. "But [the DPW] doesn't do anything unilaterally."
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