Dear Editor,
As a follow-up to my letter on Ms Carol Ryan Sooba’s rejection of the Mayor & City Council’s decision to advertise for tenders for garbage collection services for groups 7 and 8, I wish to state that according to the Municipal and District Council Act, Chapter 28:01 sections 228; 229 (a) (b); and 232:
“A council may enter into contracts necessary for the discharge of any of its functions.
“A council shall, except in those cases provided for in sections 230, 231 and 232 and except in the case of contracts made pursuant to section 269, before entering into any contract for the execution of any work or the supply of any goods to the value of two thousand and five hundred dollars or more, give notice of such proposed contract and shall by such notice, invite any person willing to undertake the same to submit a sealed tender thereof to the council not later than a day and hour which shall be specified in such notice;
“A council shall not open or consider any tender or enter into any contract to which the subsection applies until after the time specified in the notice and shall then consider all tenders which have been submitted by that time.
“In cases of emergency, or where the delay from inviting tenders in the manner provided in this Part would result in loss to the council, the council may authorise the making of contracts or purchases to the value of two thousand and five hundred dollars or more without publication of the notice required by section 229 (1), or the invitations to tender mentioned in section 230(6):
“Provided that in all such cases the council shall specify the method of inviting tenders and the period within which tenders shall be submitted.”
It should be noted that in every case, the law points to the council – the elected body, the people’s representatives – not the Town Clerk.
Clearly then, the action by Ms Sooba to hire Puran Brothers without the fiat of council is illegal.
Yours faithfully,
Patricia Chase-Green
Deputy Mayor
City of Georgetown
