Anonymous writer vents:
There should be a public outrage for the mayor and 3 council members voting to hire an engineering firm from JACKSON! It appears that a fee of $513,000 will be leaving Greenville!!!!!!!
We have 2 very competent Engineering Firms with deep family roots in Greenville. The Burles & Hookers both have contributed to the local community in many ways. Both have properties here and pay a huge tax bill every year! What a slap in the face!!
I am totally disgusted that my tax money is leaving Greenville!!!!
We should all be outraged! Not just because local engineering firms didn’t win the bid, but because the city failed to even advertise that they were taking bids for this project. The local engineers never got a chance to submit a bid.
By law, city and county governments are required to follow a very strict and well defined bid letting procedure. (Any competent attorney would know this.) The purpose of this law is to ensure that all bidders (particularly minorities) have a fair chance at submitting the lowest bid, thus winning the contract.
By allowing the city to circumvent this law, the mayor is promoting this illegal practice. So, the questions arise…
Who selected this Jackson based firm and on what basis?
How do we know that nepotism or some other form of “quid pro quo” is not steering the council’s decision?
We don’t... because the law that prevents this type of illegal activity has been ignored. Apparently, our Mayor and City Council don't "Believe in Greenville", nor do they have any respect for the laws that govern their authority as elected public servants. This is just another example of the "abuse of power" that has characterized Ms. Hudson's first term in office.
Yes, we should all be outraged and we should make our voices heard by calling the mayor and our council members to express our wishes to have this illegal decision overturned. As for our economic development council's efforts to sell Greenville with slogans like "Buy Here" and "Keep your money in the Delta", I would say that we've all been sold down the river.
Forthright
In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.--John Adams
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Welcome to Delta Scoop, a local blog about news and happenings in the Mississippi Delta. As with most blogs, the comments and opinions expressed here are just that, and not intended to be researched facts or great "journalism."
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Please contribute to the Delta Scoop! It is fun, informative and gives you a chance to have your voice heard in the Delta. Thanks to all of the loyal readers of the Scoop and I look forward to a great 2011!
Forthright
The intent of this blog is for us to share thoughts and opinions about relevant issues that affect the lives of all Delta residents. Your identity as a contributor will never be shared unless you specifically request that it be.
You can contribute to the Delta Scoop in either of two ways. At the bottom of each article, there is a "comments" button which allows you to post directly and immediately to the Scoop. If you prefer, you can also send your comments via email to: deltascoop@yahoo.com
Please contribute to the Delta Scoop! It is fun, informative and gives you a chance to have your voice heard in the Delta. Thanks to all of the loyal readers of the Scoop and I look forward to a great 2011!
Forthright
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3 comments:
Were previous engineering contracts' rates in line with market prices? I don't know.
There should be many questions asked on this issue...the top one being "Is Greenville getting the best service for the best (not necessarily lowest) price?"
The bids may've been announced in the Clarion Ledger rather than DDT. The Ledger is a regional paper.
Sad to say, this outrage was not "illegal." This is so because "professional services," such as engineering services, are not "required" by state law to be bid. Nevertheless, in the recorded history of the City, there has never been such a contract awarded without a "request for proposals" being publicly issued to all qualified businesses.
The local firms never knew what hit them -- the Council simply awarded what will be the largest engineering contract in the City's history to an out-of-town firm with no input from anyone.
It seems to be a deliberate slap in the face to two local businesses -- businesses which pay local taxes, employ local citizens and have a direct stake in Greenville -- in favor of an outside business whose only apparent qualification is that it seems to be -- but is, in actuality, not -- a "minority contractor."
The Council's action in this regard is bewildering, is indefensible, and -- to the extent that anyone cares -- is insulting to the intellect of any informed citizen, Black or White. This decision, more than any other since the "changing of the guard," validates the worst fears of the thinking citizens of Greenville -- again, Black or White.
"Buy Greenville?" Yeah, right.
I guess we'll do that unless we have an opportunity to buy from a business which has nothing whatsoever to do with Greenville, which has no stake whatsoever in Greenville, which pays no taxes in Greenville, which employs no Greenvillians or which can only find its way to Greenville with a map -- but which can claim to be a "minority enterprise."
I look forward to a rebuttal from the elected officials who voted in favor of this travesty.
I certainly agree, we need to keep Greenville money and jobs to Greenville, if at all possible.
I have a question, why did all react to the City screw up and nothing was said about the County? Our County officials and DRMC Ray Humphreys have contracted with Greenwood contractors for the update and remodel of DRMC. What is the difference?? Nothing!
What is even crazier is, less than two years ago, Humphreys was planning the third hospital and the shutdown and abandonment of DRMC and KD. Thank goodness certain people screamed about that idiocy! Apparently it slowed Humphreys down and made the Supervisors re-think their open check book policy and re-assess how much the county had already spent over the years to keep these places current and remodeled--Millions!!! And he was going to abandon them or "rent" them ??? Stupid! If he saw no use for the buildings, who else (in our impoverished economy) could see potential or could afford them otherwise??
By the way, has anyone ever found out why Ray Humphreys was "dismissed" from Forrest General Hospital Administration? Stories are that he was running the place and the doctors into bankruptcy. Seems likely to me from what we see now. Leave it to our Greenville leaders at that time to choose a candidate that had already screwed up one city and county with bad business practice. Oh yeah we need more of that! *sarcasm*
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