Warwick council approves multi-contractor paving contract after split over transparency

The Warwick City Council approved a multi-contractor street-paving contract April 6 after weeks of questions from members who wanted invoices and a prioritized street list before awarding work.

The deal amends PCR 34-26 to add Damber (spelled inconsistently in the record) to the year'long paving rotation the city uses to spread work across multiple contractors. Public works staff said the multi-contractor approach keeps the city from depending on a single vendor and allows officials to assign specific tasks to the lowest-priced firm for each pavement type.

Council members including Councilman Mudo and others pressed the administration for a definitive list of which streets the $1.5 million allocation will cover and for a record of invoices tied to prior Department of Public Works spending that exceeded approved authority. Public works staff told the council there is no published priority list yet; engineering develops a paving strategy each spring and the list is compiled afterward.

The finance committee narrowly split on a motion to hold the award until those answers were provided, sending the item to the full council without a recommendation. At full council a separate motion to delay the award failed. Council members cited both the urgency of repairing winter-damaged roads and the need for fiscal accountability in their votes.

"We need to get the roads paved," Councilman Gart said, noting the damage from winter storms and ongoing coordination with Rhode Island Energy work. Council members who sought the hold said they were seeking basic documentation about prior over-expenditures and reimbursement timing, not to block paving indefinitely.

The city amended the contract on the council floor to add the vendor and then approved the award. The vote tally was recorded by roll call in the council minutes.

The administration said it had provided an FY2025 spreadsheet of paving expenses in December and offered to answer follow-up questions; council members said some questions remained open and asked for clearer, timely answers going forward.

The council directed staff to provide the outstanding invoice information and said it expected the administration to improve pre-meeting responsiveness on procurement and budget questions. For residents, the practical result is that paving is expected to proceed on a multi-contractor basis this season; the administration said the first streets chosen will include those disturbed by Rhode Island Energy work.

The finance committee's deliberations and the full-council vote leave the municipality's procurement in place while underscoring continuing concerns about transparency and the timing of information provided to elected members.