Public Contracts (Madera County Board Of Supervisors)
It is a clone of this request.
| Multi Request | Public Contracts |
| Submitted | July 12, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Dan Rubins
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 California Public Records Act, 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
From:
Mr. Rubins,
Thank you for contacting our office with your request for information. We will search for responsive documents per your request.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.
Thank you,
Rhonda Cargill
[Description: cid:image001.png@01D3D0D7.FB05BE40]
[Description: cid:image002.jpg@01D3D0D7.FB05BE40]<https://www.madera-county.com/>
Rhonda Cargill | Chief Clerk to the Board
CLERK OF THE BOARD | BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
200 W. 4th Street, Suite 4100, Madera, CA 93637
Phone: (559) 662-6060 | Office Email: COTB@MaderaCounty.com<mailto:COTB@MaderaCounty.com>
Email: Rhonda.Cargill@maderacounty.com<mailto:Rhonda.Cargill@maderacounty.com>
[Description: cid:image003.png@01D3D0D7.FB05BE40]<https://www.facebook.com/MaderaCounty/>
[Description: cid:image004.png@01D3D0D7.FB05BE40]<https://twitter.com/maderacounty>
[Description: cid:image005.png@01D3D0D7.FB05BE40]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/madera-county>
[Description: cid:image006.png@01D3D0D7.FB05BE40]<https://www.instagram.com/maderacounty/>
NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of the original message.
From:
Dear Mr. Rubins:
Please find attached Madera County's initial response to the Public Records Act request referenced above.
Sincerely,
Shaun R. Ardemagni
Legal Secretary to Roberta Rowe,
Lee Burdick, Janae D. Castellani & Stephen Mendyk
T: 559.431.5600 | F: 559.261.9366
7404 North Spalding Avenue
Fresno, CA 93720-3370
lozanosmith.com<http://www.lozanosmith.com>
[http://www.lozanosmith.com/images/logo.png]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission may contain privileged and/or confidential information only for use by the intended recipients. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive messages for the addressee), you may not use, copy, disclose, or distribute this message (or any information contained in or attached to it) to anyone. You may be subject to civil action and/or criminal penalties for violation of this restriction. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail or by telephone at (800) 445-9430 and delete the transmission. Thank you.
From: Madera County Board Of Supervisors
Good afternoon Mr. Rubins,
On behalf of Madera County, please see the attached response to the above-referenced Public Records Act request.
Sincerely,
Shaun R. Ardemagni
Legal Secretary to Roberta Rowe,
Lee Burdick, Stephen Mendyk & Janae D. Lopes
T: 559.431.5600 | F: 559.261.9366
7404 North Spalding Avenue
Fresno, CA 93720-3370
lozanosmith.com<http://www.lozanosmith.com>
[http://www.lozanosmith.com/images/logo.png]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission may contain privileged and/or confidential information only for use by the intended recipients. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive messages for the addressee), you may not use, copy, disclose, or distribute this message (or any information contained in or attached to it) to anyone. You may be subject to civil action and/or criminal penalties for violation of this restriction. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail or by telephone at (800) 445-9430 and delete the transmission. Thank you.
-
(398) Further Response re. Public Contracts (00603452x7AD00)
From: Madera County Board Of Supervisors
Dear Mr. Rubins:
Please find attached the County of Madera's response, following-up its response to you dated September 26, 2018.
Sincerely,
Shaun R. Ardemagni
Legal Secretary to Roberta Rowe,
Lee Burdick, Stephen Mendyk & Janae D. Lopes
T: 559.431.5600 | F: 559.261.9366
7404 North Spalding Avenue
Fresno, CA 93720-3370
lozanosmith.com<http://www.lozanosmith.com>
[http://www.lozanosmith.com/images/logo.png]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission may contain privileged and/or confidential information only for use by the intended recipients. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive messages for the addressee), you may not use, copy, disclose, or distribute this message (or any information contained in or attached to it) to anyone. You may be subject to civil action and/or criminal penalties for violation of this restriction. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail or by telephone at (800) 445-9430 and delete the transmission. Thank you.
From: Madera County Board Of Supervisors
Dear Mr. Rubins:
Please find attached Madera County's final response to the records request referenced above. We will consider this matter closed.
Sincerely,
[LS Email Logo]<www.lozanosmith.com>
Shaun R. Ardemagni | Legal Secretary to Roberta Rowe,
Lee Burdick, Stephen Mendyk & Janae D. Lopes
7404 North Spalding Avenue Fresno, CA 93720-3370
T: 559.431.5600 F: 559.261.9366
[Facebook]<https://www.facebook.com/LozanoSmith> [Twitter] <https://twitter.com/LozanoSmith> [Linkedin] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/lozano-smith> [Podcast] <http://www.lozanosmith.com/podcast.php> [Vimeo] <https://vimeo.com/lozanosmith>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission may contain privileged and/or confidential information only for use by the intended recipients. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive messages for the addressee), you may not use, copy, disclose, or distribute this message (or any information contained in or attached to it) to anyone. You may be subject to civil action and/or criminal penalties for violation of this restriction. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail or by telephone at (800) 445-9430 and delete the transmission. Thank you.
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