CONTRACT WORK FOR CITY NEEDS A COMPLETE OVERHAUL

PRENTISS SMITH
Contributing Columnist

Any business that wants to do business with the city of Shreveport should be legitimate and bonded. There should be no questions about whether an entity can do the work that it is bidding to do. That business should have its own equipment and staff ready to go before it receives one dollar from the city, and that is only common sense. Letting out contracts without fully vetting a company is bad business and costly to the citizens of Shreveport.

The recent proposal to give out a contract for recycling in Shreveport leaves a lot to be desired. It appears to be something that has not been thought out fully, and it needs to be. Giving $10 million contracts to any entity requires that all the t’s be crossed and i’s dotted.

The process should be transparent, fair and not based on whom you know or whom you don’t know. Contracting with the city should be as open as it can be, and anyone who does not have the necessary credentials to do the work safely and professionally should not be given the contract.

Cities issue contracts for all kinds of services to get work done for the citizenry. Citizens expect those who are in charge to make sure that those contracts are distributed in a fair and professional way. Most contracts with the city are bid on by entities that are interested in doing the work that the city needs done and are required to show that they can do the work. The city of Shreveport issues hundreds of contracts for a variety of services that fill a particular need.

This administration can be excused for making some initial errors in judgement with questionable contract awards because of inexperience, but that ship has now sailed. When you know better, you do better, and this administration has not learned any lessons with their last contract debacle – specifically, the city insurance contract.

The new administration clearly made some mistakes with the initial insurance contract, but it was attributed to inexperience more than an attempt to do something slick. It didn’t look good, but the citizenry swallowed it, and the administration went on by their business.

The administration should make sure that everyone who wants to do business with or for the city is able to make their pitch, show their ability to do the work, regardless of their gender, race or sexual orientation. In other words, the contracting system should not be something that is given to friends of the administration or friends of friends of the administration. That is when things can go terribly awry, and the work that should be done, does not get done. Diversity matters. Competence matters.

This is the people of Shreveport’s money, and it should not be something that is just casually given to someone who is probably shilling for someone else, who may or may not be able to do the work needed or have the city’s best interest in mind.
It is clear that the awarding of contracts with the city of Shreveport needs overhauling, and the sooner the better. It is not the administration’s money to play with. A $10 million contract is a big contract, and it should be properly vetted before one dollar is paid. That is why the contracting process for the city of Shreveport needs a complete overhaul. And that’s the way I see it. smithpren@aol.com