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Resident urges council to scrutinize proposed Consilience Group contract, sidewalk engineering costs and Metro spending
Summary
Tom Sullivan told the council during public forum that the County Executive’s proposed $206,000 contract with Consilience Group for an effectiveness study of the Department of Human Services could exceed $600,000 with options, questioned $232,977 in engineering fees for a sidewalk and urged greater oversight of Metro and public-transit spending.
Tom Sullivan, a resident who spoke during the county's public forum on May 20, urged the council to scrutinize several items on the agenda and county spending. He said the County Executive proposed "$206,000 to Consilience Group to provide an effectiveness study for the Department of Human Services" and warned the contract could exceed $600,000 if a two-year option is exercised.
Sullivan questioned whether developing such a study should be the department director's responsibility rather than an outside contract. He also flagged what he described as a large engineering expense, saying "dollars 30,203 more for engineering services for a sidewalk, taking it to $232,977 just for engineering services."
Sullivan raised broader concerns about transit funding and oversight, noting what he characterized as large sums allocated to Biostate and long-term increases in transit taxes. He said the council should consider hiring an auditor or a dedicated public-transit officer, suggesting taking "$100,000 from the 200,000,000 and hire an auditor or public transit officer" to provide oversight and better inform council decisions. These comments were delivered during the public-forum portion of the meeting; the council did not take formal action on the items during the session.
