Citizens Speak Out in Lake Worth

The last item on last night's agenda was for the purchase of the Quartered Quick Bar Code System for the utility warehouse. It is something we have been talking about for several years. The cost is $31,779.56 and recommended for approval by our Internal Auditor. Apparently we paid for a bar code system that we never received that was included in another contract from a different company in May 2011, a paid contract worth $164,000.

In the back-up there is one sentence that says: This item was reviewed by the Electric Utility Advisory Board on July 17, 2013.  By Staff Including this statement in the back-up gives the impression that the Electric Utility Advisory Board approved of this recommendation to spend money on Quartered Quick Bar Code System.. It did not.

Kudos to two citizens who spoke up on this agenda item, Peggy Fisher, Secretary of the EUAB and Mary Lindsey, former chair with the perseverance to stay until the end of the meeting. Peggy Fisher further stated that the EUAB did discuss the item at length and asked for further information be provided to them so that they could eventually make a recommendation. This request went unfulfilled. She further said, "When we raise questions, we are doing so to help the commission." The problem occurs when the Board does not have enough information to make a sound recommendation.

Sometimes the Commission does listen to citizens. It was mentioned that items need to be vetted through the various volunteer board and in this case, should have come before the EUAB for its recommendation. City Manager Bornstein asked the commission to pull the item and allow it to go to the Board.