Public Contracts (Office Of The City Manager)
| Tracking # |
18-2727 |
| Multi Request | Public Contracts |
| Submitted | July 11, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Dan Rubins
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
To Whom It May Concern:
I. Background Information
Contract administration is frequently a source of concerning behavior in the public sector. For example:
- In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a company with only two employees (Whitefish Energy) was hired hired by PREPA, Puerto Rico's public utility company, to restore power to the island at a cost of $300M. The contract had audit-proofing clauses and left little recourse for PREPA due to nonperformance. After 8 months, Puerto Rico did not have power fully restored and now Congressional and FBI investigations are pending.
- During an internal audit of the City of San Diego's contracting practices, the contract with office products supplier Staples was found to exceed the City Council's approved $2M annual threshold by a full $1M. Auditors found found insufficient financial controls and produced a further 60 pages of recommendations.
- The US Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) found sustained exceptions for incurred costs audits 28.6% of the time in its 2017 Report to Congress.
- From 2010 to 2013, a Maryland Transit Authority employee allegedly used poor contracting oversight to siphon $6.3M from the state coffers.
- The City of Vallejo, CA was recently the victim of an alleged contracting kickback scheme run by the city's landscape maintenance manager, only uncovered in an FBI investigation. The kickback scheme occurred only a few years after the city was in Chapter 9 bankruptcy because of ballooning contractual obligations.
- In recent years, officials in the southern California cities of Bell, Irwindale, La Puente, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Temple City, and Vernon have been brought up on various public corruption charges.
While the vast majority of public contracting is done with integrity, bad actors and a lack of public knowledge have a disproportionate effect on the fiscal wellbeing and public trust of every level of government.
II. Requested Records
Pursuant to the { law }, I hereby request the following records:
1. Any and all executed contracts, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), and other equivalent agreements that are currently active, or were active within the last two years, other than standard employee agreements. Please provide a copy of the executed document as well as any addenda, amendments, attachments, exhibits, materials, and schedules.
2. Any and all contract template documents, for example, employee agreements, vendor agreements, master services agreements, nondisclosure agreements, or interagency cooperation contracts.
3. General policies and procedures for contract administration, including training materials and records used to instruct members of your agency in contract administration.
4. Any available process narratives, audit reports, or findings regarding contract administration covering the last two years.
I am happy to discuss any issues or suggestions to make fulfillment more manageable for your office.
III. Fees
If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me in advance of fulfilling the request.
I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public's understanding of how governments manage public money and the obligations to which they are entrusted.
Neither I, nor my company (Legal Robot), has any commercial interest in obtaining the requested information. Rather, we intend to use software to analyze and disseminate the requested information free of charge so that the public may identify patterns of bad behavior that, when eliminated, will benefit governments and the public alike.
We plan to enrich and cross-link the information we receive from multiple jurisdictions, and provide an exploratory interface for the public on the internet, for free. Because we consider this work to be Data Journalism, and we further expect to provide our analysis to other media organizations for additional print and online publication, I ask to be categorized as a representative of the news media. Upon request, I am happy to provide our analysis and any articles we write based on our analysis in advance of publication, though I cannot speak for other media outlets.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Dan Rubins
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.
I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Dan Rubins
From: Office Of The City Manager
Your first City of San Diego record request (request number 18-2727) has been submitted. It is currently unpublished and is not available for the general public to view.
Please be advised that City staff have received your CPRA request. Within the next 10 days, we will determine whether your request seeks copies of disclosable records in the City's possession or whether the City will require an extension.
From: Office Of The City Manager
Department assignment for records request 18-2727 has changed: Added: Purchasing & Contracting. Removed: Mayor.
From: Office Of The City Manager
Department assignment for records request 18-2727 has changed: Added: Public Records Administration .
From: Office Of The City Manager
Department assignment for records request 18-2727 has changed: Added: Public Works .
From: Office Of The City Manager
Mr. Rubins:
The City of San Diego has disclosable records. However, a search and review of potentially responsive records needs to be conducted. We expect that search and review to be completed by August 13, 2018, at which time we will provide all disclosable records that are neither exempt nor privileged.
Kind regards,
From: Office Of The City Manager
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
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From: Office Of The City Manager
[Document Released] City of San Diego public records request 18-2727
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City of San Diego Public Records (https://click.pstmrk.it/2sm/sandiego.nextrequest.com/nD_b6gE/DbEk/uw_WarN6wX/cmVxdWVzdGVyX2RvY3VtZW50X3JlbGVhc2Vk)
Documents have been released for record request #18-2727:
* https://www.sandiego.gov/cip/reports/consultantcontracts
* https://www.sandiego.gov/cip/reports/constructioncontracts
View Request #18-2727 (https://click.pstmrk.it/2m/sandiego.nextrequest.com%2Frequests%2F18-2727/nT_b6gE/DbEk/ROrHn2a9lv/cmVxdWVzdGVyX2RvY3VtZW50X3JlbGVhc2Vk)
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From: Office Of The City Manager
Mr. Rubins:
The City of San Diego has provided a portion of records that are responsive to your Public Records Act request. Any and all executed contracts, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), and other equivalent agreements that are currently active, or were active within the last two years, other than standard employee agreements. Please provide a copy of the executed document as well as any addenda, amendments, attachments, exhibits, materials, and schedules.
Construction and other consultant contracts from Fiscal Year 2013 to present can be viewed at the links below: https://www.sandiego.gov/cip/reports/constructioncontracts (https://click.pstmrk.it/2sm/www.sandiego.gov%2Fcip%2Freports%2Fconstructioncontracts/tICb6gE/DbEk/kt25BW_i4V/ZXh0ZXJuYWxfbWVzc2FnZV9hZGRlZA) https://www.sandiego.gov/cip/reports/consultantcontracts (https://click.pstmrk.it/2sm/www.sandiego.gov%2Fcip%2Freports%2Fconsultantcontracts/tYCb6gE/DbEk/CU8qfXnsep/ZXh0ZXJuYWxfbWVzc2FnZV9hZGRlZA) Any and all contract template documents, for example, employee agreements, vendor agreements, master services agreements, nondisclosure agreements, or interagency cooperation contracts.
Response forthcoming. General policies and procedures for contract administration, including training materials and records used to instruct members of your agency in contract administration.
Please see folder “Item 3 (PWC)” for links to portions of the City Charter, the San Diego Municipal Code, City Administrative Regulations, and City Council resolutions relating to Public Works Contracting. Any available process narratives, audit reports, or findings regarding contract administration covering the last two years.
Please note that audit reports can be found here: https://www.sandiego.gov/auditor (https://click.pstmrk.it/2sm/www.sandiego.gov%2Fauditor/toCb6gE/DbEk/kCUr3tIs_t/ZXh0ZXJuYWxfbWVzc2FnZV9hZGRlZA)
Additional response forthcoming.
--
Please note that we are still in the process of reviewing other potentially responsive documents. Assuming other responsive documents exist, we will get them to you as soon they are available. We reserve the right to withhold and/or redact any records or information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act, and/or other applicable legal privileges including, but not limited to, attorney work product and attorney client privileges.
Kind regards,
From: Office Of The City Manager
Mr. Rubins:
Additional time is needed to complete our review of potentially responsive records. We anticipate that records will be ready for your review by August 27.
Kind regards,
From: Office Of The City Manager
Department assignment for records request 18-2727 has changed: Removed: Public Works .
From: Office Of The City Manager
City of San Diego
************************************************************************
Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #18-2727:
Mr. Rubins,
Attached please find the final portion of records that are responsive to your Public Records Act request.
This concludes the City's response to your request.
Kind regards.
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From: Office Of The City Manager
City of San Diego
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Hi there
Record request #18-2727 has been closed.
From: Office Of The City Manager
City of San Diego
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Hi there
Record request #18-2727 has been published and is now available for public view.
Files
pages
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