BETHANY, Okla. — The Bethany City Council made a major change to the purchasing process and appointed its Vice Mayor for another term Tuesday.
In short:
- The Council appointed Jeff Knapp as Vice Mayor for an additional year.
- The Council changed an ordinance to allow the City Manager to make more purchases without initiating a competitive bidding process.
Knapp appointed Vice-Mayor
Council members were tasked with choosing a vice-mayor on Tuesday, and Mayor Lloyd made the motion to reappoint serving Vice-Mayor Jeff Knapp for another year.
Ward 4 Council Member Jeff Knapp has been on Bethany’s City Council since 2013 and served on the Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber for several years before he was elected as a council member.
Knapp abstained from voting for his appointment, and Council Member Marilyn McPhail voted against it. All other members of the Council voted in favor.
City manager’s purchasing authority expanded
Generally, large financial decisions in Bethany must be approved by the City council. In some situations, the City Manager is authorized to make purchases without going through the competitive bidding process and Council approval as stated in the City’s ordinances.
As the ordinance was written, the Bethany City manager has the authority to make purchases up to $35,000, or $75,000 in a declared emergency.
The Council was requested to raise the monetary threshold to $55,000 normally, and $95,000 during emergencies to alleviate some issues staff faced acquiring police vehicles.
Once the cost of the police vehicles is high enough to require the bidding process, Deputy Police Chief Chad Meek stated that the currently used vehicle seller was unlikely to continue selling the cruisers to Bethany.
Some council members had concerns with this proposal, however.
Council Member Steve Palmer questioned why the emergency authorization threshold needed to be raised if the primary concern was police cruisers.
“I don’t understand going from $75,000 to $95,000…”
As Palmer moved to get clarity on the emergency portion of the proposal, he ran out of time. His vote to extend his time failed.
“Unbelievable,” he commented.
Vice-mayor Knapp spoke in favor of the emergency authorization increase.
“75 to 95 is not a significant leap for the city… I have enough information to vote on this.”
City Manager Elizabeth Gray explained that, due to inflation, the costs associated with city emergencies have gone up and stressed the importance of a timely response to City crises.
“I would refer back to the emergency that happened on Mueller Street…,” said Gray. “Those were items that definitely, as inflation is occurring, could easily exceed our $95,000. The ability to respond is why we ask for the additional funds.”
The Bethany Council voted to pass the increased authorization, with Council Members Palmer and McPhail voting against the measure.
The next Bethany City Council meeting is scheduled for June 18th, at 6:30 PM.
Damian Powell is our government reporter for the smaller municipalities in the OKC metro such as Moore, Norman, Bethany, and Warr Acres. Damian is studying Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.