Swampscott contracts out procurement services

SWAMPSCOTT – The city of Salem has signed off on an agreement with Swampscott in which Salem would handle many of the procurement services for the town.Swampscott signed off on the one-year agreement earlier this month and it is scheduled to go into effect July 1. Swampscott will pay Salem $10,000 a year and the city will handle procurement on goods and services in excess of $10,000.Town Administrator Andrew Maylor was unavailable on Wednesday, but in earlier interviews he said the annual fee includes all costs associated with the procurement process.The town currently pays Cheryl Levenson, a member of the Town Hall clerical staff, an annual stipend of $3,250 to handle purchasing agent responsibilities.Maylor said by contracting out procurement duties it frees up half of a full time equivalent staff person to focus on traditional clerical duties. Maylor said it represents a position value of approximately $22,300.Maylor said the town has an inter-municipal agreement with the city of Lynn for fire dispatch, which has been advantageous.”We’ve had the agreement with Lynn for more than a decade,” Maylor said. “It has been very successful.”