D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray is threatening to stop work on government contracts for critical services worth upward of $800 million that the Fenty administration did not turn over to the legislative branch for approval.
Attorney General Peter Nickles determined that if the council approved the base year of a contract, it does not need to approve the option years of the same deal. Gray vehemently disagrees. The dispute has spurred a game of political chicken, with services like traffic ticket processing, trash hauling and meals for low-income children at stake.
The total value of the roughly 90 option year contracts in question is about $800 million. Most are supply schedule agreements for temporary staff, office supplies, information technology consulting, or maintenance.
“That would bring the District to its knees,” Nickles said Thursday.
Gray said he will move emergency legislation Tuesday directing the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to stop payment Jan. 20 on all retroactive contracts not approved by the council. Each “unlawful” deal, the chairman wrote this week to Mayor Adrian Fenty, must be considered by the legislative branch before then.
Among the deals at risk:
— Preferred Meal Systems Inc., $2.1 million, to prepare and deliver meals for low-income children and adults.
— ACS State and Local Solutions, $7.4 million, to process tickets.
— Catholic Charities, $1.1 million, to provide social services.
— Morgan’s Inc: $2 million for uniforms and equipment for police department
— Flippo Construction Co: $12 million for Anacostia Riverwalk Trail/pedestrian bridge construction
“I think you know I am a person who prefers collaboration over conflict,” Gray wrote to Fenty. “But as you also know, as a former six-year member of the Council, we have an important oversight function to perform and the failure to be provided with contracts and other documents impairs our ability to discharge that role.”
D.C. law requires legislative review of any contract worth more than $1 million.
Nickles contends, however, that the council’s approval of a contract voids its need to review the same deal’s option years. Also, Nickles has said, if the council approves a ceiling amount for goods and services, say $10 million for temporary support services with Banner Staffing, then it is unnecessary to submit individual task orders issued under that contract.
In January, the AG quietly directed contracting officers to stop forwarding those contracts to the council.
“In my view, the deals are valid,” Nickles told The Examiner. “But keep in mind I don’t want the District to come toppling down.”
