Looks like Lower Towamensing Township may be getting some new spending guidelines and procedures.

At a meeting last week, Supervisor Ron Walbert and Planning Commission member John "Jay" Mullikin III brought up concerns about spending in the township.Walbert questioned why almost $8,000 was spent on office furniture when the supervisors approved spending up to $3,000 at the February meeting.During public comment, Mullikin asked about spending on items for Stoney Ridge Park and Recreation Center.Brent Green, the chairman of the board of supervisors, was absent from the meeting. He said in an interview that he missed the meeting because he felt ill after attending a daylong training about asphalt. It was the third meeting he's missed in five years. He said he missed one on the day he was in a car crash and the other when he had surgery.Green said the main reason for the furniture purchase was to replace the secretary's office furniture. But after the meeting, the supervisors discussed the condition of all of the office furniture and they agreed to replace it.Green said the old furniture was purchased in 1998 through state surplus when the municipal building was built. Laminate was falling off the secretary's desk, other pieces of furniture had broken drawers and parts were missing."I was under the impression we were replacing it," he said.Regarding the cost, "I did make attempts to contact Ron when he was on vacation," he said.The actual purchase included two connecting, C-shaped desk units in the office, a desk unit for the supervisors' office and a long shelving unit.Township solicitor James Nanovic said there is no guidance in the township's code regarding approval of purchases under $10,300. It has been the tradition of the board to bring to the meeting any requests for questionable or controversial purchases.In this case, the purchase "is not clearly over the line," he said.If the purchase is more than $19,300, then the township has to put it out to bid, he said. If the purchase is $10,300 or more, then the township has to get three quotes.For purchases less than $10,300, the supervisors can do what is called "polling the board," Nanovic said.At the meeting, Supervisor Jesse Mendez said Green had asked him for his opinion about purchasing the new office furniture that now sits in the municipal building, and he told him to go ahead and purchase it.During the meeting, Walbert asked Nanovic for his opinion about what other municipalities do, since he is a solicitor for several of them. Nanovic told Mendez and Walbert that some townships and boroughs have a manager, who has the authority to act on behalf of the municipality and make purchases. Those municipalities do not often have these types of spending issues.Walbert asked if some guidelines could be written to give Lower Towamensing Township some direction, and Nanovic said he would draw up some guidelines."I'm a fiscal hawk where it comes to spending," said Walbert in an interview later.As far as the recreation center, Green said items like the two televisions were purchased a long time ago, and the stove and refrigerators were discontinued items that were on sale. He said pots and pans have not been purchased, but the center is protected with an alarm system.Green said the township has budgeted for purchases and has a surplus of $120,000. He said he keeps clear records of revenue and purchases."It's really a case of miscommunication," he said, and he looks forward to going over all of it with the supervisors at the next meeting.