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April 7, 2009: Catching up on Council | April 17: You might be a right wing extremist.... | April 17, 2009: Tea parties not about taxes...but about Big Government | April 20: City Council | June 10: Here's what I think | June 16, 2009 The Council Meeting Another no bid contract | June 17 -- Picking our pockets, one no-bid contract at a time | June 22, 2009 SCS Voice is back | June 22, 2009: Retired chief runs for Council. Can we afford him? | June 27, 2009 -- 'Bidding?...We don't need no stinkin' bidding!' | June 30, 2009: EPA Coverup on Climate Change | June 30, Guest Column...Letter Shows Stabenow believes health care a "right" | June 30, 2009: House energy bill a piece of S***T | July 3, 2009: Forget Socialism --we're racing toward Totalitarianism | July 4, 2009: Independence Day | July 6, 2009 Letter to Editor - Climate Change Not Real | July 6, 2009: Seniors Beware! Government run health plan might just kill you | July 10, 2009: Bill Clinton would be proud...it depends on what your definition of a 'bid' is...business as usual in the Shores | July 10, 2009: Minutes of Special City Council -- Ahearn and Activities Committee, 2006 | July 20, 2009: City Council: Sometimes you just get tired of the BS! | July 21, 2009: You decide | July 23, 2009: ‘‘America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009’’ is anything but. | August 3, 2009: VOTE TOMORROW | August 3: Shocking things from Health Care Reform Bill! | August 3: Look at Frederick's property on Elizabeth | August 12, 2009: Bev, get a life! | August 12, 2009: President's rigged town hall | October 11: Teddy Boys' support should be kiss of death | November 3, 2009: Now comes the hard part | November 11, 2009: Wahby distances himself from losers; Veteran's Day and other matters | November 16, 2009 A new day | November 19, 2009: A personal message | November 17, 2009: Socialized medicine failing in Germany | City -- Some Pension Costs, Oct. 2007
June 27, 2009 -- 'Bidding?...We don't need no stinkin' bidding!'
What I am seeing at our city council meetings disgusts me and it should disgust you as well because it appears that Mayor Hison, Matt Ahearn, Bev McFadyen and Ron Frederick have formed a voting bloc and that they have never seen a no-bid contract they did not love.
Despite all their rhetoric about how they support the process, time and time again they have voted against it. They are simply content to 'renew' contracts or not allow them to go out for bids, even when shown evidence that the competitive process would, most likely, save the city -- and taxpayers -- money.
And I question why is it that these four always seem to look on competitors on with suspicion. Why is it that they never question how their favorite companies suddenly could lower their prices or start offering additional services or rebates when faced with even the 'threat' of competition. The 'fault' always lies with the competition. Nah, we hear from these four that the competitors bids were put together wrong, or were not apples to apples, or some other such nonsense.
Remember the Waste Management debacle? These four had to be dragged, fighting tooth and toenail, even resorting in some instances to outright deceit, before voting to bid it out. Are we to believe that Waste Management would have lowered its bid without a competitor? Yet if left up to Hison, Ahearn, McFadyen and Frederick we would be paying $300,000 more on this contract. If anyone doubts the veracity of this statement, all they have to do is get the tapes of the meetings from the Library.
More recently, we witnessed A.E.W. , who provide engineering services for the city, having their contract renewed at a cost of a little over $1 million a year. This contact has been in effect for almost 15 years. Who knows how much we might have saved if it had been bid out.
The latest debacle? Insurance for our city. Once again Hison, Ahearn, McFadyen and Frederick demonstrated their mantra of 'shopping and supporting the Shores' is empty lip service. Did they accept a proposal from local firm, A. J. Gallagher, which came in at about $349,000 and stayed at that amount?
No, they stayed with MMRMA whose initial bid of $514,000 immediately dropped once they were aware of the possibility of a competitor. But MMRMA was awarded the contact and it's going to cost taxpayers about $50,000 more. Now, it's not like A. J. Gallagher is an unknown in the field of municipal insurance . They write billions a year in such business and even insure the State of Michigan, so the idea that they left something out or their proposal which left the city at any kind of risk is asking us to believe in the Tooth Fairy.
Hison, Ahearn, McFadyen and Frederick have, in my opinion, totally shirked their responsibility to the citizens they are supposed to represent and instead seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in orchestrating what can only be called a 'dog and pony show,' where department heads and even vendors have to stand up and try to justify the unjustifiable. It would be funny if the consequences have not cost and are continuning to cost taxpayers serious money.
Because there is no way to justify this. There is no way to put a 'spin' on refusing to try to get the best deal for the taxpayers of this city.
It is obvious that we must change our charter to require that all contracts above a certain figure go out for bids.
And the next time Hison, Ahearn, McFadyen or Frederick tells you it's a 'beautiful day in the neighborhood' during their council comments, I recommend you look out the window because just might see the dark could of the looming budget deficit hanging over your head.
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