Legislator
Tom Cilmi and Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory heralded the passage of
legislation they co-sponsored adding a fourth member to the County’s RFP Waiver
Committee, as an improvement in balance and transparency.
The
RFP Waiver Committee reviews and authorizes requests from the County
Executive’s office to bypass standard Request for Proposal procedures in
certain limited cases. Its current membership consists of three members,
two assigned by the County Executive and one by the Legislature. Since waiver
requests only need a simple majority of two committee members to pass, Cilmi
said the committee’s present structure rendered the Legislature’s
representation meaningless and virtually guaranteed that every request would
pass.
Cilmi
said, “The Legislature and the Executive’s office are equal branches of
government. Adding a second member from the Legislature means that at
least one member of the Legislature must approve waiver requests. That
adds a measure of balance and oversight, which is particularly important when
we’re spending taxpayer money without the full consent of the Legislature.”
“Adding an additional legislature representative to
the RFP Waiver Committee is a win for good government reform. This move brings
balance to the committee and puts more eyes on what transpires without
interfering with the procurement process,” said Presiding Officer
DuWayne Gregory.
The bill, approved on a 12 to 6 vote with five
Democrat members joining all seven Republican members in support, now
goes to the County Executive’s office for approval.
