A hurried decision earlier in late May by the Fredonia Village Board turned out to be the wrong one. At last week’s meeting, Trustee James Lynden told Fredonia Fire Department Fire Chief Joshua Myers the new $52,000 truck must be formally bid out.

Village procurement policy states any item worth $20,000 or more must go to public bid, by at least three bidders. “If it’s not on a state contract, we have to go by the laws of how we have to do it,” he said. Even though it’s a nice price, we can’t go around it.”

While village trustees corrected their wrong call, it is quite disappointing to see how the law firm that was paid nearly $235,000 for its work in 2021 allowed trustees to move forward with something that is not legal during the May 31 meeting. Longtime village attorney Sam Drayo would have never let it happen and it’s likely Dan Gard, who served before Webster Szanyi, LLC, would have stopped it as well.

If Fredonia is going to pay top dollars for its attorneys, who claim charter law discussions should happen illegally behind closed doors sessions, then they deserve better representation — or one that does not have to come at such a high price to residents.