Stockton Council has approved a £300,000-a-year contract to replace its fleet of gritters.
The authority says its gritters are reaching the end of their efficient and reliable life so orders need to be placed for new ones.
A three-year contract of £300,000 per year was agreed by the council cabinet on October 15.
Ged Morton, director of corporate services, told the cabinet meeting it needed to approve the contract, which went over the limit of £500,000 for officers’ approval.
He said: “We spend an awful lot of money on goods, services and supplies.
“This is part of your role as cabinet in overseeing that. Officers still have the responsibility to ensure that correct contract procedures are followed and procurement legislation is fully complied with.
“This relates to the leasing of new gritters, part of the essential winter maintenance and to keep our residents safe on the roads. There’s a long lead-in time for these, which is why we’re bringing it now.
“The gritters that this procurement will lead to will not be required until the 2027-8 winter season. But because of the lead-in time on the production of these vehicles, we need to order them at this point.”
Councillor Paul Rowling, deputy council leader and cabinet member for regeneration and resources, made an apparent reference to recent discussion of procurement and tendering in a council committee, which heard of over £17m worth of contracts made under exceptions to the normal council rules.
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He said: “This is the council’s procurement policy in action.
“There has been some rather ill-informed public comment regarding this recently. But the procurement policies are there for all to see.
“I’ve always said as cabinet member I’m more than happy to have a conversation with any councillor or any member of the public about that. But this is clear evidence of those procurement policies in action.”