The Orting City Council narrowly approved the consent agenda on Oct. 29 after more than half an hour of line‑by‑line questions about claims and payroll. The motion to approve the consent agenda passed by roll call, 4–3; multiple councilmembers asked staff to return with more documentation for particular invoices before payments were considered final in the budget record.

Councilmember Moore initiated the discussion and asked about several items in the claims listing, including why the city pays a separate contracted fire marshal when the city obtains fire services from Pierce County. Councilmember Hogan said the outside marshal performs building‑permit and plan‑review duties separate from Pierce County’s emergency services. Moore also pointed to two Safe Streets invoices (Keller Associates Inc. and an additional line item) that he said lacked an authorizing agenda bill and asked that payment be withheld until the council verified authorization.

Other questions focused on a $14,485.50 invoice from a legal firm (noting the firm’s departure from city representation), publication charges to the Tacoma News Tribune (McClatchy Company), multiple generator repairs and rentals related to a recent outage, and a $19,698 legal bill from Summit Law Group. Councilmembers said they did not find clear descriptions for some voucher line items in the packet and requested the finance director provide supporting documentation.

The payroll packet also drew scrutiny. One councilmember asked for the historical payroll breakdown showing positions and individual paychecks — a report the council said had been included in prior packets but was presented in a less detailed form for this packet. Some members argued that staff responses to emailed questions had been insufficient.

Councilmember Hogan and others argued the payments needed to proceed to avoid disrupting city operations, while Councilmember Tracy and Moore favored pulling specific items until answers were provided. After debate, council approved the consent agenda and directed staff to provide the requested backup and explanations.

Clarifying follow‑up requested by council includes supporting authorizations for Safe Streets expenditures, documentation of the contracted fire marshal arrangement, an explanation of recent vendor and generator charges, and a payroll breakdown for council review.

No single voucher was administratively rescinded at the meeting; council votes to approve were accompanied by requests that staff report back promptly on the flagged items.