  Eastsidechris Member Username: Eastsidechris Post Number: 235 Registered: 12-2003 |
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20080609/M ETRO/806090379 I was surprised that nobody had posted this yet. In a nutshell, The News reports that: --Ferguson had only one contract worth $5.2 million before KK took office, and $170 in contracts since then (including $109 through the Water and Sewage Department). --Where he really seems to be making his money is through change orders, where extra costs are added onto the original contracts. I think anyone who works with a contractor will agree that you almost always have to pay more money, but 48% more for his Water and Sewage contracts? By comparison, other companies' contracts with that department only increased 14%. --Most damning part of the story: If a contractor knows he could get large change orders, he could underbid his competitors, thus undercutting the concept of competitive bidding, said Bill Hayes of Hayes Excavating. Ferguson is "living off change orders," Hayes said. "Nobody else can do that." Ellenwood, the water department spokesman, said change orders are meant to be small supplements to contracts. The department tries to keep change orders to less than 10 percent of the original contract. He didn't know why Ferguson's contracts had grown an average of almost 50 percent. --Does anyone out there honestly believe that he didn't have an under the table understanding with KK that he'd low ball these bids and then tack on big time change orders while doing the work? Again, where are the feds? BTW, I see that after today's story broke, city council has decided to hold two of his pending contracts so they can investigate this more. (Message edited by EastsideChris on June 09, 2008) | ||
Mrsjdaniels Member Username: Mrsjdaniels Post Number: 938 Registered: 08-2005 |
this is the name of the game...and this is why you need absolute transparency in government | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 1120 Registered: 05-2004 |
The Buddy System at work. |
