Publisher note: tomorrow night the Oro Valley Town Council will conduct a review of the performance of Town Manager Jeff Wilkins. The review will be held in executive session, behind closed doors. We think that resident Mike Zinkin's comments that follow have some relevance to that discussion.
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The takeover of spending by staff of Oro Valley is out of hand
Town Policy #6 requires the Town Manager to come before the Council for any unbudgeted expenses. This ensures the Council has the final say in all financial matters, as they should.
However, ex-Town Manager Jacobs spent over $600,000 to update the Council chambers without Council concurrence. Now, the Town has discovered that making the Community Center ADA compliant is going to cost more than estimated. Did they come before the Council to get permission to spend additional money? No.
Now there is an issue with the horrific turf reduction the Town did on one of the holes on the Conquistador Course. There are over 40 yards of dirt and dust, making the air unsafe during a wind storm or monsoon. The golf contractor has received an estimate to place gravel/decomposed granite to rectify the situation. The Parks and Rec. Director has determined that the estimate is too high.
Nobody knows what the estimate is, but staff has determined it is too high. How about doing something new… present the situation to the Council and let them determine if the cost is too high? First, staff spends without Council authorization, and then staff decides not to spend without Council approval.
Spending is the authority of the Council
The Council are the elected decision-makers, not staff. Nobody voted for any staff member. Staff is there to carry out the decisions of the Council, not make decisions that are under the authority of the Council.
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