City paid friends of City Hall top brass $300,000 through subcontracting scheme
Interim City Manager Jesús Garza told Council he'd enlist former staffers, but didn't get Council approval for their payHow would you like a job that pays roughly $30,000 a month and requires no documented work output?
"The Mayor and Council brought me on board to be a change agent," he said."To be effective in providing results, I did bring in people I know, including Laura and Joe, because of the breadth of experience and knowledge they both have, not just about city government, but the City of Austin specifically."
On March 1, the city announced a slew of high-profile leadership changes initiated by the interim city manager."Garza has recruited a group of seasoned professionals who will join him on the interim leadership team," the press release said. Joe Canales, a longtime deputy city manager and Garza's top aide during his 1990s stint at City Hall, was given the title of"special assistant to the interim city manager.
Regarding the terms of the two subcontracts, Watson says that Garza"fully briefed" CMs"about the functions and compensation for the temporary positions when he created them." Four CMs tell us they don't recall, specifically, a conversation about compensation for Huffman and Canales, though they do recall conversations about Garza's plans to contract with the two consultants.
The broad range of duties Canales and Huffman were authorized to perform has given them extensive authority over a range of organizational and policy areas. But the master agreement under which their subcontracts are being paid – authorized by Council in 2016 – specifies a much more narrow scope of financial advising work.
The city spokesperson said that"general consulting" is described in the initial bid PFM provided to the city in 2016. That bid lists services PFM will provide, including financial advising, work related to bond elections,"evaluating State and Federal legislation for the City, and other tasks as needed.
When seeking third-party services, the city normally asks different contractors to make a case for themselves through a competitive bidding process, with Council making the final, public decision. Competitive solicitations are required underwhen municipalities sign contracts with vendors above a particular dollar amount – except in specific circumstances, such as emergencies or when a contractor is the only vendor capable of performing a specific service.
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