Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Police chief admits he broke purchasing rules

He ordered Tasers, then sought approval.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published February 16, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - Police Chief Russell Barnes stood before City Council members last month, seeking approval of a $50,000 purchase of Tasers. He said he was ordering them directly through the manufacturer, thus saving the city money.

But there was one thing Barnes didn't say: He had already ordered the Tasers, nearly a month earlier.

Barnes acknowledged Thursday that he didn't follow proper purchasing procedures when he ordered the 34 stun guns. City Manager Steve Spina said he has counseled the chief about the matter.

"I went outside the city's approved purchasing policies. I ordered them prior to the council approval," Barnes said.

Barnes ordered the Tasers in late December from Arizona-based Taser International Inc. He said he initially sought to buy them on a payment plan, but the company then changed its own policy. That meant Zephyrhills' 34 Tasers would have to be paid for in a lump sum of almost $50,000.

The chief said he was "foggy" on the part of the city policy requiring council approval on any purchase of more than $10,000.

Invoices obtained from City Hall show the Tasers were shipped on Dec. 30 and 31. The purchase caught the notice of finance department employees, who directed the chief to put the matter on a council meeting agenda.

Barnes did so Jan. 22. In his presentation, though, he didn't indicate the purchase already had been made. He explained the advantage of bypassing vendors to buy the Tasers and said the money for them was already in the budget.

"We're requesting the permission to go ahead and make that purchase," he said in the meeting.

City Council member Celia Graham said she learned only later that the Tasers had already been ordered.

"I assumed that he was there to ask for our approval so that he could go ahead with the purchasing process," Graham said Thursday. "The presentation lent itself to that interpretation, in my opinion.

"Typically if someone comes to City Council for approval of a purchase, it is understood that the purchase has not been made."

Graham said she has asked for all the relevant documents and plans to speak with Spina about the issue.

Spina said Thursday he told the chief that the purchase wasn't handled well and the steps weren't done in the right order. But he said he's not concerned that city funds were misappropriated.

"I don't think there was any intent to do anything improper," he said.

Molly Moorhead can be reached at 352 521-6521 or moorhead@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 16, 2007, 00:07:13]