Detroit’s Office of the Inspector General released a 26-page report Dec. 19 that concluded that controversial meetings between city officials and several large demolition contractors didn’t violate written rules, but lacked transparency, The Detroit News reports.
The meetings, spearheaded by the Detroit Land Bank Authority and the Detroit Building Authority, were in relation to demolition work to be contracted as part of the Hardest Hit Fund, which was a program where funds were made available to tear down blighted properties throughout the city.
A set price program for the property demolitions that was put in place in 2014 was a core issue of the investigation. The city was looking for contractors that could demo 800 properties within two months. Three of the four local demolition contractors participating in negotiations before the public bidding period—Adamo Group, Homrich and MCM Demolition—were the only companies that bid on the work after the public bid period. They were ultimately awarded the contracts. Bierlien was the other company involved in the meetings.
The investigation looked into whether the city engaged in fraud or corruption by holding the meetings with these contractors before the release of the request for qualifications was made public.
The Office of Inspector General opened the case on Oct. 24, 2015 to "examine certain aspects of the demolition procurement process" that were led by the Detroit Land Bank Authority and the Detroit Building Authority. According to The Detroit News, the office reviewed 4,767 pages of emails that contained 1,146 messages from city officials and personal email accounts.
After the investigation, it was determined that the closed-door meetings did not violate any existing policies.
"Based on our review of documents and interviews conducted for this particular matter, we conclude the large-unit contractor meeting did not violate any existing (Detroit Land Bank Authority) policies pertaining to the use of the Hardest Hit Funds," the report reads. "However, engaging in a meeting that was not open to all contractors unnecessarily gave the appearance to the public that an improper activity was taking place behind the closed door."
The report went on the state that although there were no findings of rules violations, the meetings “lacked fairness, openness and transparency.”
“Though the authorities did not violate any of their written policies, this process unnecessarily gave the impression that Adamo, Bierlein, Homrich and MCM were given preferential treatment," the report states. "Because we (the city of Detroit) have endured a history in which select contractors were being favored and contracts were issued without a competitive bidding process, it is all the more important now that we, as a public body, have an open and transparent contracting process."
City officials are still under federal investigation for involvement with the Hardest Hit Fund, The Detroit News reports.
