There is an important ethics ballot question November 8th in Philadelphia.
Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to require Council approval of certain City leases, contracts and concessions, to empower Council to address public confidence in the integrity of the City's contracting process by requiring certain disclosures and by providing whether persons who have made certain campaign contributions are ineligible for such contracts and for City financial assistance, and to empower Council to regulate the process by which non-competitively bid (no-bid) contracts are awarded?
What does this mean?
It means we need to vote YES.
Non-competitive bid contracts (no-bid contracts) are contracts for the purchase of goods or services to which the City or a City Agency is not required to issue a contract based solely on the lowest bid.
See what changes will take place on the flip...
These are the
changes that will occur if this City Charter Amendment becomes law:
Individuals who give a city official, candidate, and/or Political Action Committee more than $2,500 in a year would be banned from receiving a no-bid or professional-services contract worth more than $10,000. Contributions by members of an individual's immediate family would count toward the $10,000.
Companies that give a city official or candidate more than $10,000 in a year would be banned from receiving a no-bid or professional-services contract worth more than $25,000. Contributions from a business' officers, directors, shareholders or partners would count toward the company's yearly $10,000 limit.
All city agency intending to award no-bid or professional services contracts must publish those intentions on the city's website at least 14 days before the contract is awarded. All job applicants must be published on city's website, as well as the applicant to whom the job was awarded, whether that applicant was the lowest bidder, and, if not, why the lowest bidder did not receive the contract.
All individuals or businesses applying for no-bid or professional services contracts must disclose on the city's website all contributions to any elected official or candidate in Pennsylvania dating back two years, the names of consultants hired to help obtain the contract, how much those consultants were paid, and the names of subcontractors the applicant intends to hire.
This will improve Philadelphia's already burgeoning image.
I don't want this to turn into a bash John Street thread for the federal corruption probes. As a Philadelphian, I can tell you that the backlash against Street was based on race. This has been praticed by numerous Philadelphia mayors, including America's mayor, Ed Rendell.
This type of reform could go a long way towards reforming federal government no-bid contracts. All politics are local. This is an important first step.
