Baltimore City?s Board of Estimates and its solicitor did not abide by laws governing the inclusion of minority- and women-owned businesses in renewing and increasing a $44 million fuel contract, leaders of an organization representing those businesses said Monday.
City officials countered that the board?s action did not exclude minority businesses and was only an increase in the amount of an existing contract.
The contract was extended last fall and increased last week to Norfolk, Va.-based Isobunkers LLC. But Arnold Jolivet, executive director of the Maryland Washington Minority Contractors Association, claimed the contract was not advertised to minority businesses certified by the city and did not meet goals for minority inclusion set by acity agency.
The Board of Estimates voted Wednesday to increase a contract with Isobunkers for gas and diesel for the city?s Public Works fleet by $10 million. Last September, the board renewed a contract for fuel with the company for a third year, making its total award now worth $44 million.
The contract increase received a waiver from the city?s Minority and Women?s Business Opportunity Office, according to the board?s agenda. City Solicitor George Nilson said the waiver was granted by that office because the action last week was an increase to an existing contract.
Jolivet laid blame for not including minority businesses with Mayor Sheila Dixon and Nilson. But Nilson said minority- and women-owned firms were included in the original contract bid process in 2005. He said the original fuel contract also required delivery by larger vehicles and that the fuel purchase was separated from heating oil contracts to allow smaller vendors to participate.
“These need to come in very large tankers, this is not the kind of situation where you can segment this and deliver that in smaller tankers,” he said.
William Poinsette, operations manager for OMO Science, Energy & Technology, said his firm could have provided the service to the city.
“This bill wasn?t publicly known, the city went ahead and re-contracted to the old company,” he said. “We weren?t afforded the opportunity to [bid on it].”
Erika Campos contributed to this story.
