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Officials say the offer was too low and the contract will be re-advertised.
PITTSTON – Council rejected the only bid it received for towing services Wednesday, on the grounds that the annual fee R&M Recovery was offering was too low.
The Laflin company offered the city $16,000 in three annual increments over the term of the three-year contract, but that represented almost half the amount the previous contractor paid.
All council members except councilman Danny Argo voted to reject the R&M bid and readvertise the contract. Argo said the city was not large enough to provide enough work for a tow operator to recover costs, and he felt the R&M bid was fair.
Mayor Joseph Keating said after the meeting that if the city did not get a suitable bid, it might consider buying the equipment and taking on the work itself. Towing costs would likely be met from insurance company payments, and it has a secure location to store any recovered vehicles, he said.
In other business, the city voted to award the annual audit contract to Joseph Aliciene, after Lincoln Heights was dropped from the original audit proposal, and the price reduced by $1,100 to $8,900.
The city also approved proposals by the Luzerne County Tax Claim Bureau to sell four properties to Barton J. Weidlich. A fifth property is being reviewed to confirm an appropriate price.
According to solicitor Samuel Falcone, the properties have been delinquent for at least five years.
The city also abated all taxes on 46 S. Main St., which had been taken over by the Redevelopment Authority, on the grounds that the city would effectively be taxing itself.