City Council

[bashmark]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington.
Is it ethical or legal for members of a city council to negotiate a contract for services provided to the city? Then present it to themselves for approval ?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[CdwJava]

Are either of them beneficiaries of the contract? In other words, will they be paying themselves, a family member or close friend?

If they do not benefit, who do you think should negotiate contracts for the city?

What do the city regulations say about contracts or this particular type of service?

It's really hard to say whether something might be unlawful or unethical without knowing a whole lot more detail. Perhaps this is something to raise at a city council meeting?

 

[quincy]

Generally, once a city provides notice to the public for a request for proposals, the city does not make contact with anyone who is bidding on the proposal. It would be unethical to do so.

However, once the bids are received by the city, they are considered by the council, and a proposal can be rejected, approved and negotiated.

But I agree with Carl that more facts are needed to tell you if what your city council is doing is unethical or not.

 

[CdwJava]

It depends on whether this was something put out to bid, whether it was a contract involving a current provider of services, a sole provider of services, etc. I can think of a number of issues where negotiations over details of a contract are worked out prior to presentation to council. But, a lot depends on the details as well as relevant state and local law regarding the particular product(s) or service(s) being negotiated.

 

[bashmark]

In the case the City put out an RFP to take bids on the food service at the Convention Center and the new Arena.. The search committee had 5 responses. The City Council wanted to see real efficiencies before replacing the current operator who had the contract for 30 years. The committee decided on one multi national co. and asked the Council for permission to negotiate because they really couldn’t come up with hard numbers until they talked. The council voted 4 to 3 to allow the committee to proceed. There seem to be a lot of jobs on the line in the community. The committee was given permission to talk and come back with hard numbers. So can Council members negotiate and present to themselves without public input?

 

[CdwJava]

I would think that the final consideration would have to be put before the council as a whole (and thus be open to public input), but on the surface I do not see any impropriety.

It sounds more like fact-finding to me, and I know we engage in that regularly. In fact, that's what I have been doing all morning - clarifying issues and details with bidders on a city-wide surveillance system.

Others might see some issues that I do not, however, and your state may have some particular laws that come into play, but it seems like it is all being done in the open.

 

[quincy]

I am unclear as to your concern here, bashmark.

Are you concerned that the city council could be violating the Open Meetings Act by negotiating the terms of a contract without public input, or are you curious about the way the council chose the multi-national company's proposal over the other four submitted? Or is it something else entirely?

Your city council is governed by state law, city ordinances, and the city's policy and procedure guidelines. You may wish to check out the articles of your city's charter for the provisions that apply to RFPs and the negotiating and awarding of contracts.

And you could check out the Washington's Open Meetings Act (RCW 42.30), which governs what the city can and can't do "behind closed doors." The city council is allowed to hold executive (non-public) sessions, to discuss select matters as permitted under RCW 42.30.

But I, like Cdw, do not see anything off-hand that seems wrong or unethical with the council's conduct, based on the limited facts presented here so far.