City officials are working to develop a new purchasing policy that is intended to bring a greater level of accountability and control to city spending here. The new policy is likely to rein in spending, in particular, by the Tower Area Ambulance Service (TAAS), which has spent thousands of dollars a year on unusual purchases for a public agency, such as groceries, frequent meals at restaurants, cases of soft drinks, and high-end queen-sized mattresses, apparently for its ambulance quarters.
A Timberjay review of TAAS vouchers over the past two years suggest that the vast majority of the department’s spending is for legitimate purposes, such as purchases of equipment and supplies, and salaries and wages for its emergency responders.
But the extent of spending on groceries, dining out, and equipping ambulance crew quarters came as a surprise to some city council members and interim clerk-treasurer Ann Lamppa after the suspension of former clerk-treasurer Linda Keith in June.