The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-04-25

In the opinion of Director of Public
Works John Il. Roche, 1t will be neces-
sary before any contracts can be let
for any city work to have an ordinance
passed by councils setting forth who
shall award such contracts. He has
carefully looked up the law and be-
lieves that this is the only proper thing
to do.
AT present, according to Mr.. Roche.
the city has no power to enter into a
contract. The ripper bill provides that
all contracts relating to city affairs
shall be let as heretofore in each of the
cities of the second class. 1t contains
another provision which, as he views
1t, debars councils from letting con-
tracts. This reads, "No contracts shall
be entered into or executed directly by
the councils or any committee there
Of"
BY referring to a digest of the old
second-class city laws it will be found
that the Act of 1874 sets forth how
contracts shall be awarded. This act,
by the terms of the ripper bill. is the
one which must be followed in this
city, says Mr. Roche.
WHAT IT PROVIDES.
1t provides that "all stationery,
printing, paper and fuel used in the
councils and in other departments of
the city government and all work and
materials required by the city, shall be
furnished. and the printing and all
other kinds of work to be done for the
city shall be performed under contract,
to he given to- the lowest responsible
bidder under such regulations as shall
be prescribed by ordinance. and 1t shall
be the duty of councils forthwith to
enact such ordinances"
Mr.. Roche claims that the immedi-
ate introduction and passage of an
ORDINANCE giving some person or per-
sons the right to award contracts is
absolutely necessary. There are sew
eral small sewers for which bids have
already been received. but not opened,
and City Clerk Lavelle advertised yes
terday for sealed proposals for two
sewers to sewer portions of Bellevue.
Mr.. Roche was asked by Tribune
reporter as to whom he thought it
would be best to vest the power of
awarding contracts in, and he replied
the recorder and his cabinet. He said
that the ripper bill, as originally intro
duced, provided for the awarding of
contracts by the recorder and the head
of the proper department, but ex-
pressed himself as not favoring this
plan.
DIVIDE RESPONSIBILITY.
"The awarding of contracts Is very
delicate NATTER" said he. "and should
not, believe, be vested in one or two
officials. have no desire to award the
large share of contracts which come
under the head of my department, be-
cause realize that, no matter how fair
and impartial I might be in perform
ing this duty, I would always be sub
jected to more or less criticism.
II think that the recorder and the
members of his cabinet. or at least the
principal members. should be consti-
tuted by councils as board to receive
and open all bids and award contracts
| think an ordinance providing for
some method of awarding contracts
cannot be passed too quickly. as the
hands of the head of every department
will be tied until it is passed"
City Clerk Lavelle. himself a re-
markably we'll informed amateur
municipal lawyer, takes issue with Mr..
Roche regarding the latter's conten-
ton that under the ripper bill no con
tract can be awarded by councils. Mr..
Lavelle says that while the bill says
that councils should not center into or
execute" any contracts. that this does
not cover the awarding" of contracts.
a contract clrnot be entered into, he
claims. until it has been awarded.
Recorder Moir, in speaking about the
matter to a Tribune man yesterday
afternoon, said that he was much i'm
pressed with Mr.. Roche's suggestion
that the awarding of contracts be done
by himself and the members of his off
cial family and that he believed that
this plan would be more satisfactory
all around than delegating the power
to one official.