Happy Birthday to us.
Exactly three years ago, the ridiculous no-bid Azbell A/V monstrosity prompted me to finally speak out about local government waste. Little did I know exactly HOW much waste there was in addition to that A/V system! Millions of dollars more, as it turns out.
Finley immediately told a massive lie the very next month, trying to cover his ass against the colossal waste of money in a September 2018 Dispatch article:
DeGraffenried said if the City Council had decided to seek bids for the audio visual system instead of using the Buy Board method, the city would have had to spend about $10,000 to obtain a professional design for the system. “I think we did get good value — I’m convinced of it,” deGraffenried said of the system the city purchased.
This is what is know as a “bald faced lie”.
The TRUTH is that the city DID originally seek bids – and it accepted the lowest one from Broadcast Works for $33,983 – which INCLUDED a one-year warranty AND training. It is right there in black and white in the City council minutes from August 25, 2014….on page six.
Monica Wright, Information Systems Director, explained that she received three quotes for Professional Service related to Audio/Video Distribution and System Automation for the new Council Chambers:
Broadcast Works $33,983.00
Azbell Electronics $41,184.41
Whitlock $54,411.36
Wright said that the IT Department recommends the award of quote to Broadcast Works in the amount of $33,983. The selected A/V contractor will be required to work in conjunction with the architect, general contractor and sub-contractor, in addition to attending a pre-construction meeting. The scope of work to be done will be in accordance with the contract, which will include a one year warranty, as well as training.
Council member Toups moved to approve the award of quote for Professional Service related to Audio/Video Distribution and System Automation for the new Council Chambers. The motion was seconded by Council member Talbert and with a unanimous vote, the motion carried.
Yet despite all that, somehow that original agreement disappeared in a shadowy back room deal somewhere and Azbell was handed $95,000 without question.
Looks pretty cut-and-dried to me. Finley is a liar, plain and simple. So was Gary Cox, our former Assistant City Manager who was fired resigned over a rumored prank involving goldfish crackers, if you can believe that!
The funniest part? If you actually publicly point out all the lies and money wasting and shady deals (and back up your accusations with copious amounts of hard evidence), you get called a “cowardly keyboard warrior” by the mayor! The very same mayor who babbles about being transparent but then hides behind her lawyer anytime a citizen requests public documents!
Talk about an upside-down world we live in.