Finance Committee - 8/2/2017 Page 13
the case may be. | think that would be helpful. It would be helpful for me and | don’t want to speak for the
rest of the Committee. | would be helpful for me and hopefully some of that information would be helpful to
other members as well.
Mayor Donchess
Now I’m not contesting anything you’re saying. It just depends on the level of scrutiny or the degree of
overview that you wish to exercise. There have been times when both the Board of Public Works and the
Finance Committee basically when they see a written memo explaining this, they know there’s a lot going on
over there. They basically rely on the people that work there to have made accurate and responsible
decisions regarding what should be done.
Alderman Cookson
Your statement about the last Superintendent raises that we should have at least more purview into and more
explanation.
Mayor Donchess
And I’m not disagreeing. If you want more review, more insight into the details and the reasons for each of
the changes, | don’t have a problem with that.
Alderman Cookson
So no the reason why | was asking about is the information explained in Public Works is maybe | need to take
it upon myself to either attend or watch one of those if these are being discussed in that forum.
Mayor Donchess
I'd say there are sometimes they’re discussed with the detail that you’re asking but sometimes they’re not. A
lot of times the Board of Public Works knows these people quite well.
Alderman Cookson
But at least Ms. Osborne would be available at a Board of Public Works meeting so that if a question needed
to be asked at that point in time, she would be available.
Mayor Donchess
That’s true. She’s always there. Someone from the treatment plant is always there.
Alderman Cookson
So I'll make an extra effort to try to attend or participate in those.
Mayor Donchess
What do you want to do with this one? Do you want her to come in on this? Do you want to approve it or
what are you asking for?
Dan Kooken
Just to address this specific issue on this. This is a very big project. This is the fifth change order on this
project. It’s about $3 million. I’ve been out there a number of times and have seen what they are doing there.
It is very much down in the bowels of the facility and they’re finding things that they didn’t original anticipate or
