In the wake of a scathing audit of airport construction contracts, some Atlanta city council members are seeking to require more information on proposed city contracts before they vote on them.
The audit made public last month found red flags in Atlanta airport construction contracting, including errors in the contracting process and unclear reasons for the cancellation of contracts.
Atlanta City Council finance committee chair Howard Shook is proposing the legislation along with council members J.P. Matzigkeit, Jennifer Ide, Matt Westmoreland, Andrea Boone, Natalyn Archibong and Andre Dickens. Dickens had also called for swift reforms after the audit.
A proposed ordinance, which is on the finance committee’s agenda this week, would require all contracts coming through city council to include information on how competing firms were evaluated and scored, as well as a memo on scores from the chief procurement officer and all addenda.
If any firms are disqualified by being “deemed non-responsive,” the proposed ordinance would require documentation on the determination.
And if a contracting process is canceled, it would require written justification.
The requirements “should be strengthened to allow for an open and transparent procurement process” to make the process more competitive and efficient “and reduce the threat of unfairness or corruption,” the proposed ordinance says.
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