(WGNO) – The New Orleans Office of Inspector General says the city needs to make some improvements when they are procuring goods and services.
The OIG looked at 128 solicitations in 2013 worth about $112 million and continued to monitor procurement in 2014 to measure the city’s progress.
Evaluators say they found several recurring issues, including:
- The second phase of the City’s process for selecting contractors via requests for qualifications (RFQs) was not conducted in accordance with Executive Order MJL 10-05 and the Home Rule Charter, which require selection committees to review and evaluate proposals and make selections in meetings noticed and open to the public.
- Many of the requests for proposals (RFPs) issued by the City did not include sufficient reporting requirements, did not specifically describe how the selected contractor’s work would be evaluated, and did not include penalties/incentives for failing to meet or exceeding performance expectations.
- Some of the professional service solicitations issued by the City did not state clearly how cost proposals would be evaluated and/or did not identify the intended quantity and/or duration of the services being requested.
Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux said, “The current administration has increased the transparency and fairness of the procurement process. But additional improvement is needed to ensure the best value for public dollars.”
The OIG suggests that the city outlines performance standards and penalties and incentives in procurement documents. They also say the city needs to conduct all selection committee reviews and evaluations in public meetings, and make sure cost and service expectations are stated clearly in all RFPs.
Click here for the full report.
