Fulton County's Ethics Board will dig deeper into allegations that the winner of a $3.3 million busing contract had inside help from a former county employee during the bid process.
Board members want to know whether former Transportation Coordinator Steve Everson's adverse reports about a competitor influenced the bid selection committee, giving California-based MV Transportation Inc. an edge. After winning the contract, MV hired Everson to be general manager of its new Fulton division.
Commission Chairman John Eaves filed a formal ethics complaint last month, which The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported.
"I think that there's something very fishy," Eaves told the Ethics Board in a hearing Wednesday to determine whether a formal investigation is warranted. "There's a rat in the room."
The board stopped short of launching a formal probe, with Chairman Donald Edwards raising concerns that to do so would taint the accused. The board will be taking investigative steps, however, holding a second hearing on the matter and calling more witnesses to testify under oath, including members of the bid selection committee.
At issue is the work of shuttling more than 3,000 seniors and developmentally disabled adults to senior centers, adult day care centers, medical appointments and dialysis treatments. Operating more than 70 minibuses, MV provides rides to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents, at no charge to them, giving them freedom to move about and keep socially active without burdening their families and others.
The county commission awarded the contract in September in an overhaul of how it manages the bus system.
When county commissioners were reviewing the service, Everson was among the staff members who told them about complaints of poor service, such as buses breaking down and leaving seniors stranded for hours.
Everson said he found buses where doors wouldn't close and windows flew open en route. In one case, he reported to the county that he found vomit left overnight on the floor of a bus.
Most of the problems, he has said, were with former contractor Atlanta Transportation Systems. Owner Thomas Dortch contends no written complaints were filed against his company, but negative reports were trumped up by Everson.
Eaves said Wednesday that such claims may have put ATS at a disadvantage and paved the way for MV.
He also charges that Everson violated Fulton's ethics code by leaving and going straight to work for a contractor. The code requires departing employees wait at least one year before taking jobs with businesses working for the county.
Everson and the company contend they did nothing wrong, having obtained blessings from Everson's supervisors before making the hire. County Human Services Director Troy White has admitted that he and other staffers were unaware of the ethics policy.
An attorney for MV said that when the company first took on the Fulton County job, it faced massive startup problems and had to fire a general manager who couldn't handle the complex, urban service. The county sent Everson over to smooth out operations, and MV decided to make him an offer.
If the Ethics Board finds a violation, it could issue sanctions, levy up to $1,000 in fines or recommend that MV's contract be revoked.
MV attorney Daniel Lee said the board ought to be looking into Eaves. Asked to elaborate, Lee said, "I suspect that perhaps there's some loyalties or affiliations with ATS."
Eaves and Dortch are friends, Eaves having nominated him to serve on the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority board of trustees. Eaves said that's not why he's pressing the issue.
"To me, it's a clear violation," Eaves said, "and it's right there in your face."
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