Northglenn Thornton
Sentinel
November 29, 2012
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com
Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 16
City moving ahead with bidding changes Thornton officials say new changes will bolster transparency, candidate filter By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com Thornton officials are moving forward with plans to revamp the city’s bidding process to increase transparency and weed out dubious contract candidates. The proposed method, which would be adopted as an ordinance, calls for all capital improvement contracts exceeding $500,000 to be awarded to “the qualified, responsible offer or whose proposal conforms not only to the technical requirements but also the process requirements set forth in the draft (Quality and
Transparency in Procurement) ordinance.” “We believe that this package … is a positive step and will give the City Council a broad range of information with regard to the firms that will be under consideration,” said city manager Jack Ethredge. “We think this a good proposal and will add to the potential of having higher quality developments built throughout the city.” The Citizen Advisory Task Force would help the city make decisions on the planning, programming, and design and siting of a new building. Contractors who receive a nod from this group would then be entered into a
County audit shows missteps By Darin Moriki
darinm@ourcoloradonews. com A third-party audit of the county’s purchasing process has revealed a number of errors that ranged from incorrectly authorized purchases to miscommunicated or misunderstood purchasing practices. The 31-page study conducted by Colorado Independent Consultants Network found that 32 of the 50 purchases handpicked from 26 county departments to be tested “were not properly authorized.” Two of the purchases were approved by noncounty board members without approval from a county employee with proper authority, while the remaining 30 were either not signed at all or signed by someone without the appropriate authority level. To resolve this issue, the study recommended the county revise its purchasing policies by requiring officials to sign individual invoices rather than a cover sheet for invoice batches. “What it means to us is that someone actually touched that invoice and must have looked at it or at least put their pen to the paper on it, because their signature is on it,” Colorado Independent Consultants Network founder John Olenberger explained. “When you sign a batch cover sheet, you’d like to think that someone looked at every invoice within that batch, but there’s no way from an audit standpoint to ascertain that.” Olenberger said his firm did not determine how much money was subject to this batch cover sheet approval process, but instead focused on how the process itself could be improved. County accounting manager Mary Ha said the county
is currently in the process of implementing a JD Edwards electronic signature module that would phase out these problems. Becky Kessler, the county’s digital content coordinator, said these centralized automated purchasing efforts will in place by next year but was unable to provide a specific date. The study also suggested the county create a timeline for changes to be implemented and conduct training classes to ensure county employees are on the same page for purchasing procedures. County purchasing manager Loren Imhoff said the first purchasing process class will be Jan. 31 and will be held on a biannual basis. Apart from the report’s findings, Olenberger commended the county’s transparency efforts to identify areas of improvement. “I think that it needs to be noted that they’re taking huge steps forward in not only establishing an internal audit function, but also being very transparent about what comes out of it,” Olenberger said. “There’s really no shame in saying, ‘Yeah, we have some areas that we need to improve on.’ — everyone does.” Kessler agreed and said the county “wants to be a leader in government best practices.” “I think it’s very proactive on Adams County’s part, because no one came to us and said, ‘You need to have a study,’” Kessler said. “This is an ongoing process, so Adams County is going to continue to look throughout all of our areas and take a hard look at what we’re doing on a regular basis, ask those hard questions, and then revise and review all of our policies.”
POSTAL ADDRESS
prequalification process that would establish mandatory additional information requirements that must be submitted to the city. “It’s not a big jump from a value standpoint … to see that the idea of treating people fairly and being equitable is clearly — it seems to me — a value to this community,” Ethredge said. Contractors that pass through the prequalification stage will then be subject to existing processes in the city’s purchasing ordinance. City support services director Jerry Dye said the prequalification process is similar
to practices used in the bidding process for several existing city developments, including the Margaret W. Carpenter Recreation Center and Thornton Justice Center. “In general, we wouldn’t have recommended it, if we didn’t think it was workable,” Dye said. “It will work, and in my professional opinion, I think we can do this without any big problems.” City Council will consider the issue during its Dec. 4 regular meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. and is at 9500 Civic Center Drive in the Council Chambers room.
HIGH WIRES
Service technicians from JM Wireless upgrade a wireless system inside one of the three crosses in front of Destiny Outreach Ministries Nov. 20 in Northglenn. Photo by Andy Carpenean
Northglenn amends residency requirements By Darin Moriki
dmor iki@ourcoloradonews.com Future Northglenn city managers must live within an approximate 45-minute commute time from the city’s limits. Council approved the requirement by a 7-1 vote during its Nov. 12 meeting. Ward IV councilman Gene Wieneke cast the dissenting vote. Joe Brown, Ward II, Joe Brown was absent. The new ordinance will replace a former prerequisite, adopted in March 2009, requiring city managers to reside within the city’s limits within a year of his or her appointment. The rule was made shortly after current city
manager Bill Simmons was hired by the city in November 2008. Simmons, a Louisville resident, is expected to retire on Dec. 31. Council struck down a previous proposed amendment last month that would have allowed the city to hire a city manager residing outside of the city’s limits, if that person “resides at a reasonable daily commuting distance by automobile.” Wieneke said he was in favor of making a minor change to the former city manager requirement that would allow council to make exceptions for qualified candidates who live in nearby communities, such as Westminster, Thornton or Louisville.
However, he said council had extended its reach by approving the 45-minute commuting time requirement. “When it came to enlarging the residency requirement, I thought the council went too far, and that’s why I voted against it,” Wieneke said. “I would much rather have people who are close by, so that those who are eligible would not have to pick up their house and move it a block or a mile.” Ward IV councilwoman Kim Snetzinger said the new ordinance will cast a wider net and al-
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low people living within the Denver-metro area to apply for the city manager position. “For me, on this one, I figure that if you’re in Parker, Highlands Ranch, or something like that, 45-minute restriction should be more than enough time to get up here,” Snetzinger said. Ward I council member Carol Dodge agreed. “I think it’s a good place to start at,” Dodge said. “We have to have some restriction on this and it seems like a good place to start for me.”