Read on Twitter
If you want to find out where money is being wasted in a government (any government), look to procurement. The City of Calgary #yycc has some seriously broken procurement rules. @RicMcIver @JyotiGondek @LRTontheGreen https://twitter.com/meksmith/status/1341781939695407105
Example 1: If a contractor violates/fails to complete a contract for #yyc, they are still allowed to bid on a different contract AND THE PROCURMENT OFFICE ISN"T ALLOWED TO TAKE THE FAILURES INTO CONSIDERATION!
Example 2: Let's say the city wants to build X. They then put out a contract for X being done in the traditional X way. Company Y says that they can do it in a new way that can cut the costs in half. YYC procurement is NOT ALLOWED to take innovative methods into consideration.
Example 2 continued: For a #yyccc that is constantly talking about innovation, this one particularly grates on my nerves. Companies stopped doing this in the 1970's, but Calgary and many other governments still do it.
Example 3: Speaking of additional factors, our procurement process is basically "here are 5 criteria, as long as you meet these 5 criteria, the lowest bid wins".
Example 3 continued: This approach only works with identical products from different suppliers, like toner or pencils. For projects like the #greenlineyyc there are many other factors - history of success, tendency to go over-budget, etc
Example 3 PS: This issue could be handled easily by simply adding criteria to include innovation, history, etc. It doesn't require a complete overhaul, just a bit more work.
Example 4: The #yyccc recognised a procurement problem a while back, but the report created was very limited in scope (didn't address innovation, for example) and there was no requirement to put any findings into practice.
I'm very disappointed in the #ableg #greenlineyyc decision today, as it is essential for residents of north central Calgary, where I'm the president of the largest community association there ( #northernhills). But I'm not surprised there are procurement issues.
Let's address these issues not only for the Greenline, but for procurement in the City of Calgary in general. If not now, when, #yyccc?
Disclaimer: This is all based on conversations with both contractors and union reps, as well as reading the reports on the topic that are publicly available. I also have almost 30 years of experience in both government and private sector procurement.
Disclaimer PS: I'm speaking as a private citizen, not as an official spokesperson for the NHCA in this matter.
