For some vehicles that Lake Zurich village staff may want to purchase, Village Board approval may not be required, following a rules change trustees approved earlier this month to help with making timely — and more competitive — buys.
Essentially, the purchase rules have changed to allow village staff to buy select vehicles without explicit board permission – though trustees will be notified when such a purchase is made. The move is aimed at helping the village remain competitive in a marketplace still troubled by supply issues, according to officials.
The ordinance allowing the buys without board permission is temporary and may only apply to vehicles costing up to $707,000.“The current state of the automotive and medium truck industries has created extremely long lead times to deliver vehicles and equipment. Order windows are extremely short, as little as one day in some cases,” said Trustee Marc Spacone, reading from the ordinance.
Keller thanked the board and department heads for figuring out a solution “in trying to manage a very fluid and difficult situation.” He reminded trustees of a previous mention about “dealing now with a three-year window for vehicles that should have arrived this year and vehicles we purchased this year that we’ve not yet been able to secure and, looking ahead, to vehicles we will incorporate into the budget for 2024.