County approves finance advisor contract extension

County commissioners approved to extend County Finance Advisor Rob Burpo’s contract through the end of January 2016 Tuesday morning after a short volley between Commissioners Chet Spear, Wendell Bostwick and Chairman Ben McDaniel.

After a quick summary of Burpo’s contract from County Manager Lance Pyle and the item on the floor, Spear asked McDaniel if he could ask some questions for clarification purposes.

“If you’re going to continue to go in same circles we’ve been in, we’ve heard your opinion several times on this, we’re not going down that road again and I’m also not reading this letter from Rob (Burpo),” McDaniel responded. “To be perfectly honest, I’ve had enough of this crap and I would assume everyone else has. It depends on what you want to say.”

“The concern I had was (paying Burpo) $25,000 for a full year and $20,000 for four months. That was my question,” Spear said.

Bostwick said the reason for the $20,000 four-month payment is because Burpo would be managing more money.

“It’s like if you’re managing two employees and getting paid, and if you’re managing twice as many employees you get more money,” Bostwick explained. “The more you manage, then the fees go up.”

Bostwick explained the payment terms in Burpo’s contract — which is the same one that was approved last year, County Attorney Steve Doerr said — noting Burpo is being paid 40 basis points (0.4 percent of the balance in the account) for managing the county’s general account and 20 basis points (0.2 percent of the balance in the account) for managing the county’s bond money.

According to an email from County Treasurer Debbie Spriggs to Pyle, Burpo has been paid $10,515.64 from the county since July 2015 for services pertaining to both the general account and the bond money.

“Rob (Burpo) did us a favor by dropping it to 20 basis points for funds over there in the bond issue,” Bostwick said. “He could’ve charged us 40.”

Bostwick made a motion to amend the item, extending Burpo’s contract from 90 days to eight months, making it terminate on June 30, 2016 to put it back in line with the county’s fiscal year, and added a $59,000 cap on Burpo’s annual payment to avoid violating the county’s procurement code.

The motion failed on a 3-2 vote; Bostwick and Tim Ashley voted in favor, while Spear, McDaniel and Angelina Baca voted no.

Bostwick then voiced concern over only extending the contract 90 days, asking if it would give the county enough time to issue two separate RFPs for municipal advisor and financial advisor roles, respond to anyone interested in the positions and provide information back to the commission.

Doerr said it should, but there’s one kink the county has to deal with first.

“At this time, Curry County has received a written bid protest from (Burpo), and we have to deal with that first,” Doerr said. “We can deal with it and move forward.”

Doerr added that the commission can also vote to extend Burpo’s contract to accommodate the RFP timelines.

Commissioners approved the 90-day extension of Burpo’s contract 4-1, with Spear voting no.

After the meeting, Bostwick voiced his concerns about how commissioner relationships may appear to private developers — specifically one that’s wanting to bring a renewable energy project to the county.

“My objective is to make sure we don’t lose development, wherever it’s at,” Bostwick said. “Other counties would love to have this project, and if we as commissioners keep fussing about innuendos, someone’s going to make a nickel off of this thing. I want Curry County to shine a light that we’re open, that we don’t have to fuss over this municipal advisor or this person that does the vetting, whether he’s qualified or not qualified. Whenever a developer is trying to develop, it’s all about time and money, and if this thing drags out, it’s, ‘See ya later.’”