SEYMOUR POLICE PRICING AUDIT, Red & Blue Lights PAY MOUR IN SEYMOUR

Competitive Bidding Requirements for Connecticut Municipalities
By: Jennifer Proto, Principal Analyst
December 21, 2017 | 2017-R-0360

State law generally does not require municipalities to use competitive bidding to award contracts or make purchases, but municipalities may adopt such a requirement individually by ordinance or charter. Competitive bidding requirements depend on the contract’s funding source. If funded by
the municipality, then the requirements, if any, would be governed by the local charter or ordinances. If the project is funded in whole or in part by the state, then additional statutory requirements may apply.

In the Spring of 2023 the brand new Blue/ White LIGHTBAR shown in this video is sold by the dealer, UTILITAC of New York, says the list price for this product is $7731. This new product would cost Seymour Connecticut $4,638 if using the discount found on State Contract. The volunteer Firefighter he says paid $1,073 or 86% off the list price. Connecticut discounts are 40% this brand product. Utilitac goes on to describe he has to buy product packages from the manufacturer where radically lower prices are the actual market cost of the these items. The other leg of the pricing stool is how state and local personnel use brand attributes to pick a vendor, then a limited number of dealers/distributors participate to create the appearance of competition. In fact police officials are costing much more than these products would cost if there was brand & vendor competition. The lights and labor alone, in Seymour, cost more than building an entire CSP cruiser. Municipalities in Connecticut have no regulatory requirements to buy best value, they can buy what they want & where they want.