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Public speaker urges council scrutiny of transit spending, engineering and consultant contracts
Summary
At the May 20 public forum, Tom Sullivan criticized proposed consulting and engineering expenditures, questioned Bi-State/Metro funding and urged the council to consider hiring an auditor or public-transit oversight officer.
Tom Sullivan told the council during the registered public-comment period that he is concerned about three items listed on the county agenda and about regional transit spending.
"Other correspondence number 9, the County Executive proposing $206,000 to Consilience Group to provide an effectiveness study for the Department of Human Services," Sullivan said, and he warned the council the work could be larger than the initial amount if a two-year option is exercised.
Sullivan also criticized what he described as a high engineering cost for a sidewalk, saying the engineering portion had increased by $30,203 to a total of $232,977 and suggested the county auditor review it. He raised a separate concern about a $200,000,000 figure for Bi-State and questioned whether the county is getting value for transit tax revenues.
"To take a $100,000 from the 200,000,000 and hire an auditor or public transit officer makes a lot of sense," Sullivan said, urging the council to improve oversight of Metro operations and financial decisions.
Sullivan framed his remarks as a call for greater transparency and fiscal oversight; the council did not take recorded action on his comments during the meeting.
