The Village of Oak Park has created a committee to review the contracts it uses to deal with companies that provide services such as street cleaning, snow removal, and tree planting.
These contracts make up approximately one third of the village's budget, and Oak Park trustees are concerned they might not be getting the best deals.
Adam Salzman, who is a trustee for the village, said Cook County has such a committee in place, and he thought the same thing could be done at the local level. He points out that the village spent about $46m on contracts last year, which amounts to about 32% of the annual budget. The 2016 budget bumps that up to $50m.
Contracts are often approved by the village board at public meetings, but with very little discussion, according to Salzman. Anan Abu-Taleb, the village's mayor, agrees, saying it is time for the trustees to become more involved, take a look at the contracts and the money spent on them, see where the money is going, and decide if they can do better.
The committee met for the first time on January 12, and will meet about once a month in future.
Village officials could create Brochures for Mailing to residents informing them of the new committee and encouraging them to attend public meetings, where many contract decisions are made.
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