Comments on: Consultants who brought us the cracking reservoir on agenda for new $1.5 million contract — on the consent agenda?!?

By: FixHillsborough

FixHillsborough — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:53:48 +0000

It’s very telling that the same (group of) commissioners never seem to want to pull these items for discussion…only Ferlita and Beckner. This same group of commissioners keeps selecting this same consulting firm…and all this while the county is suing them for the problems with the reservoir??? That’s like hiring the same contractor that screwed up your bathroom renovation to install a new roof on your house.

We need some new rules…if the amount you are spending is $100K or more it must be discussed, period. And if the commssioner meetings are longer as a result, so be it!!!

This is our money they are spending. How dare they approve it without going into detail for the citizens’ benefit!!!

By: Kelly Cornelius

Kelly Cornelius — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:31:13 +0000

Update – I tuned in to the BOCC meeting this morning and Commissioner Ferlita pulled this item for discussion. Commissioner Beckner also voiced concerns. Bob Gordon from Public Works gave high praise for HDR and they took a separate vote on the issue to approve HDR’s contract. It passed 4-2 Ferlita and Beckner voting NO!

By: Watcher in the Woods

Watcher in the Woods — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:22:59 +0000

Let me get this straight…You mean they have like this…SEPARATE agenda? One they don’t look at and discuss the items one by one..? One with lots of items that cost lots of money, that they just vote YES on, for the whole bunch of them lumped together? Pages of items, all voted YES on? And that’s why they call it the CONSENT agenda..cause they always automatically CONSENT to these items????? Couldn’t they at least call it the MAYBE CONSENT agenda??? and at least pretend to be scrutinizing the items?

And this is WHY??? To save TIME? Effort? These things are so trivial that they don’t need to be explained or discussed before the general public? Is there a dollar amount threshold for these items? I would think it should be in the neighborhood of one thousand dollars…certainly not $1,500,000.00!!!!! And that to a company that we’re SUING!!! WHAT THE HELL!

But seriously, the consent agenda is way too convenvient a hiding place to slide things through. Cause the general public is not reading those fine print pages…but thank GOODNESS a few are. Reporters ought to be going through them with a FINE TOOTH COMB every single time. I’ll bet there are stories in there!

By: pokesittiekid

pokesittiekid — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:57:21 +0000

Wow. Cool. This is like being admitted into a drive-in movie by entering in the trunk of a car. Or swallowing contraband ~ or inserting “cargo” into bodily cavities to avoid detection. Who’s in charge of the consent agenda? I’d start there.

The devious mind can come up with a lotta crap. I say prison bars. Scrutinize more closely, BOCC. There are crooks among you.

By: Mariella

Mariella — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:04:45 +0000

You are absolutely right, Kelly. $1.5M warrants public discussion and a public presentation from whoever on county staff is recommending this expenditure, along with a slide or two showing the competitive bids from other companies and explanations as to why THIS company, with its lousy record, is being recommended again.

$1.5M also warrants the public awareness that comes from putting an item up front on the board’s agenda rather than burying it inside the part that slips through with no more than a rubber-stamping.

Citizens are clamoring for more transparency and accountability in government, and our county commission seems to keep doing business in back-room deals with the same old contractors — even when those contractors’ track records cry out for greater scrutiny.

By: Dixie

Dixie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:32:17 +0000

Gee, I wonder if any of the good Commissioners will have the internal fortitude to pull this for discussion. Seems like someone should just to give the appearance of business in the sunshine. Tomorrow might be an interesting day. Stay tuned because I’m still asking “Who’s next?”