ELYRIA — The city has renegotiated the contracts with its copy machine vendor, MT Business Technologies Inc., and secured a lower rate than the one obtained by former Mayor Bill Grace, who signed the contracts without using the bid process.
By using the state purchasing program, Law Director Scott Serazin said the city was able to secure a savings of more than $94,281 over the life of the five-year contract. City Council will hear details of the deal soon, and Serazin said he will recommend Council authorize the contract without going out for bid.
“I think we can move forward with a very advantageous agreement this way,” he said.
City officials renegotiated the contract because the contracts signed by Grace in late November exceeded the state spending limit of $25,000 when added together. That limit prevents municipalities from entering into contracts without securing the best possible price through competitive bids.
The original contracts outlined a five-year lease agreement between the city and the Avon Lake company for 11 machines, as well as the service of those machines. The base agreement was worth more than $60,000 a year.
“It is very clear under the law that if the contract exceeds the state spending limit, then the contract is void,” Serazin said.
Members of new Mayor Holly Brinda’s administration found the problem when they were reviewing the contracts after assuming office in January.
Serazin said it is in the city’s best interest to enter into a new agreement using pricing set by the state, which is the most legal and efficient way of handling the matter. MT Business Technologies is sanctioned by the state to be a vendor.
The new deal is a lease-purchase agreement, versus the original deal, which was just a five-year lease. After five years, the city can purchase the equipment for $1 and enter into a service-only contract.
In addition, Serazin said he was able to negotiate a lower per-copy rate the city would pay should it go over its allotted number of copies. The original per-copy rate for additional copies was $0.0165. The new rate is $0.0089.
“That could result in even more savings,” Serazin said.
Grace maintains he did nothing wrong in signing the contracts.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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