It’s not unusual to hear grousing from companies losing out on a bid. But in the case of the District’s lottery contract, it’s not just sour grapes. Testimony during a council hearing last week raised serious questions about the fairness of the competition, including the ratings the bidders received and the price negotiations.
The D.C. Council must decide by Tuesday whether to acknowledge that mistakes were made during the procurement, but still approve the contract to Intralot, a Greek-based company; or tell the chief financial officer to do the solicitation for the third time; or take no action and allow the time to lapse on the award resolution, effectively killing it.
“The council will have to figure out the legal implications and where to go from here,” Chairman Vincent C. Gray said in response to my question about what choice he and his colleagues were likely to make.
Regardless of council members’ decision, they’re sure to be criticized.
“The council was never intended to be the arbiter of last resort on these contracting decisions,” said Jack Evans, council chairman pro tempore.
The lottery is an important revenue generator. In fiscal 2008, the city received about $70 million from its various games, according to an independent audit report. During the 1990s, however, the lottery routinely dropped more than $85 million into city coffers, helping to finance an array of government services. The decline in revenue isn’t associated with the recession but rather in the management of the games; two years ago, officials decided to seek a new contractor.
The first procurement was marked by political interference. A mix of politics and incompetence has hampered the second effort.
“I don’t see how we can have a do-over and the do-over is wrong,” said an exasperated Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas.
Specifically, the CFO released a request for proposal that didn’t include a requirement for local, small business partners, although that’s a mandate in most District contracts. The difference in ratings between bidders on the technical section was so wide, everyone is suspicious — except the CFO’s contract officer. Points for being located in a disadvantaged or empowerment zone of the city were not given to one of the bidders. And, Intralot, the company the CFO selected, didn’t provide the lowest bid.
“I don’t think we’re getting the best value, not just on this contract but on a lot of other projects, “said at-large Councilman Kwame Brown, who blasted the city’s small-business department for botching the joint venture certification of one of the bidders.
Lee Smith, the agency’s director, admitted that he knew two votes taken by the commission should not have been taken; one approved the certification, the second disapproved it. Both votes may have violated the District’s standard procedures.
“We did nothing wrong, ” Smith asserted during the council hearing.
“We might need to shut down the department of small business,” Brown said.
Have mercy! I agree with Brown. That is indisputable proof that things are seriously off-track.
Jonetta Rose Barras, hosts of WPFW’s “D.C. Politics with Jonetta,” can be reached at [email protected].
