![]() ![]() On Friday, the ILO Group issued a statement, saying it “believes strongly in fairness and transparency and always properly follows the procurement rules that are in place.” That meeting led to a contract for ILO, whose managing partner, Rafal-Baer, then worked for Chiefs for Change and had been invited to the Zoom meeting. The ILO consulting firm formed two days after McKee took office and one day before McKee took part in a Zoom meeting with then-Chiefs for Change CEO Mike Magee, a McKee ally and donor who mentioned ILO during the call. The new law also prohibits companies from bidding on a request for proposal if that entity had any link to an official that participated in crafting that request for proposals.ĭuring oversight hearings, senators noted that the ILO Group’s managing partner, Julia Rafal-Baer, had been a member of the state’s Learning, Equity & Accelerated Pathways (LEAP) Task Force, which issued a report on issues, such as learning loss, that ILO was later hired to address. Seveney, a Portsmouth Democrat, said, “That wasn’t moving the goal posts - you moved the stadium.” DiPalma called for terminating the contracts for both ILO and WestEd and rebidding the work. During an oversight hearing, Senator James A. So the state ended up awarding the work to ILO and WestEd through a master-price agreement process. The new law requires that no request for proposal could be changed to a master-price agreement unless the request for proposal is cancelled and reissued as a master price agreement.Ī master price agreement sets a price for goods or services that the state may obtain from multiple vendors.Īdministration officials have said that after receiving proposals for this education contract, they found they “could not compare apples to apples” because the vendors “didn’t understand what the state was expecting.” The confusion centered on plans for establishing “municipal learning centers” in all 39 cities and towns. ![]() The residents of our state should know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely and properly, and this legislation will provide safeguards against concerns relating to state purchasing.” Serpa, a West Warwick Democrat, said the new law “will further enhance our residents’ confidence in how the government operates, ensuring that fair and transparent purchasing processes are clearly established in law. Had this protocol been in place, the state would have averted this unneeded controversy.” And this bill will provide the administrative framework to ensure that state contracts and purchases are conducted fairly, cost-effectively and without any inference or evidence of impropriety. “As we have seen with this recent controversial state contract and purchase, there is a distinct need for reform of our state purchasing processes and policies,” he said, referring to the ILO contract.ĭiPalma said, “The public deserves transparency and assurances that every state contract or purchase agreement is made with the sole best interests of Rhode Island residents in mind. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |