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As deadline looms, mayor accused of halting broker shopping

City Council leadership Thursday accused Mayor Gabriel J. Campana of attempting to stop the shopping for an insurance broker.

“He is trying to stop the process so we can’t have a request for proposals and bring in brokers who can go out and find the best quality insurance for the lowest price,” Jonathan Williamson, council president, told the Sun-Gazette.

“Why has the mayor needed language changes to a request for proposal for insurance brokers after it was sent out?” asked Councilwoman Liz Miele.

“That’s old news,” Mayor Gabriel J. Campana, who did not attend the meeting, but was contacted afterward, said. “Instructions were not followed correctly. The request for proposal was council’s language — not mine.”

However, Miele said the final document was approved by the mayor’s office and the city finance department.

“Council has a little more than a month to review responses, choose a broker and have the broker go out and shop for us,” Miele said.

Campana said instead he seeks the lowest cost instead of council choosing by a subjective measure.

“It could be construed as a council backroom deal by choosing someone that they would select because of personality or friendship,” Campana said.

Currently, the mayor assigned the human resources director Megan Page to send out a bid packet to brokers who will respond in a competitive manner.

“It’s just like a homeowner does,” Campana said, adding the council is the body that is “overstepping its responsibility as legislators.”

Miele was adamant the process isn’t looking transparent.

To ensure it does, she said she has asked the mayor’s office, with no response thus far, to place an individual from the city finance committee on the broker’s selection committee when it is formed.

The mayor cancelled after the proposal was sent out — which is not professional, according to Williamson.

The city faces a mid-September deadline in order to have adequate time for the brokers to do their work and for council and the administration to work together to find the best insurance agencies for liability and workers’ compensation insurance coverage for 2019.

“We want to make sure the city administration isn’t making any deals and we want to have eyes on the project to ensure both sides of government are in on the selection process,” Williamson said.

In other business, the council approved a certificate of appropriateness for a rear facade of the Residence Inn, at 150 W. Church St.

The rear facing West Third Street was redesigned at council’s request for a more welcoming backyard and entrance to the hotel.

The city police pension board approved the calculation for former city police Cpl. Eric Houseknecht.

The former employee will receive an annual pension of $41,623, or $3,468 a month.

Houseknecht and the Fraternal Order of Police are preparing arbitration to fight his termination decided upon by four members of council.

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