Frank Conaway, the self-obsessed Circuit Court clerk of Baltimore City best known for his recent refusal to acknowledge Sheila Dixon as mayor, may turn into an unwitting whistle-blower. His claim that he cannot affirm her being mayor because she did not appear before him to be sworn in may have tenuous constitutional merit. But through his maneuvering, he made public a city-owned corporation whose operations deserve explanation.
Documents he refused to sign because of his bruised ego relate to a $4.5 million purchase agreement to transfer part of the city?s Quarantine Road landfill to the Industrial Development Authority.
Since 1986 the city has financed more than $141.3 million worth of projects through the IDA, which despite its name has backed a variety of projects unrelated to “industrial” issues. These include $5 million for buying 860 voting machines; $2.8 million for two helicopters for the Baltimore City Police Department and $1.9 million for helicopter parts; $10.2 million to acquire and install a radio and computer-assisted dispatch system for the fire, police and public works departments; and $6 million to acquire the Paramount Hotel so it could be transferred to a private entity. It also financed $390.4 million of debt.
Stanley Milesky, chief of the Bureau of Treasury Management, whose responsibilities include the IDA, was not in the office Friday to answer questions about the group. Questions we?d like answered include: 1) Do members of the City Council hold public hearings on these contracts? 2) If not, who signs off on them, and is there any opportunity for the public to comment on them? 3) Are the costs of these contracts included in the budgets for the departments that benefit from them, or are they extras? 4) Which companies were awarded these contracts, and what are their connections to the city and to city employees, if any?
We look forward to a full explanation of why the IDA exists and how the public benefits from its services, aside from its higher credit rating than the city?s, which allows for cheaper debt financing for its bonds.
What?s clear is that in no year, especially one with as gloomy an economic outlook as this one, should taxpayers be forced to pay for projects that circumvent normal approval processes. And the last thing the city needs is another way to hide its finances from public view. No online database of city contracts exists, and in order to review a specific contract, you must go in person armed with the date it was approved. We need more sunshine to make this city run smoothly, not less. Conaway deserves thanks for making public the IDA, even if its importance exists solely for personal edification.
