Town Hall furnishing expense sounds right

The amount of money the Town of Berlin intends to spend on furniture when it outfits its newly renovated Town Hall might sound somewhat over the top, but it is decidedly mid-range to budget level, according to statistics compiled by commercial vendors.

Whether calculations are based on an office’s square footage or the cost per person, the resulting price estimates fall close to the number the mayor and Town Council approved this week.

Even then, the price tag of a purchase doesn’t tell a complete story. Also to be considered, according to commercial vendors and advisors, is the cost of ownership over a specific length of time.

As the selected company, Teknion of Toronto, Canada, says on its web site, a cheap task chair might be $300, but there’s a reasonable chance it will need to be replaced in four years. That means the chair actually costs $75 a year.

 A $700 Teknion chair, however, is pricey up front but is expected to last 12 years. That comes to $58 a year, so in that respect it’s the better deal.

But all this is beside the point. It simply doesn’t make sense to completely overhaul the interior of an 11,200-square-foot seat of local government, dress it up so it’s the best it has looked in decades, and then fill it with particle board desks, low durability chairs and leftovers from the old office.

Although the idea of going cheap on outfitting the town’s upgraded space will appeal to those who believe government should operate with string, bailing wire and duct tape, the people who work for government must be considered as well.

Like any other working person who is expected to care about the jobs they do, they need decent surroundings in which to work.

It sounds as if this purchasing plan will do that at a price that’s entirely reasonable if spread out over the next 10 years.