BuyBoard&" Official Admits: TASB Administered Agency Allowed Vendors to Write Own Bid Specs

Texas Assoc. of School Boards partnership allowed BuyBoard" vendors to manipulate bids Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Under intense questioning by the chairman of the House Government Efficiency & Reform earlier this year the head of the BuyBoard" a non-profit purchasing agency serving school districts municipalities & counties admitted his agency" allowed a roofing vender to write roof repair specifications that required the use of the vendors products.  More directly the practice prohibited government purchasers from not doing business with the BuyBoards vendors.  Legislators are expected to vote on HB 800 by Rep. Doc Anderson perhaps before the end of the legislative week to stop such unscrupulous roofing vendors from manipulating bids & contracts at taxpayer expense.   HB 800 by State Rep. Charles Doc Anderson of Waco reflects legislation alreadly addressed in both Virginia and California where efforts to stop school roofing vendors from manipulating bids & contracts has already been addressed.  

Before he admitted that his agency had allowed the vendor to write them Steve Fisher head of the BuyBoard had to be pressed repeatedly by Chairman Rep. Bill Callegari for an answer about who wrote the bid specifications. These scams by a select few materials companies have cost taxpayers millions & millions of dollars in excess charges for roofing and re-roofing public buildings" said PRSC spokesman Edis Oliver P.E. following the March 2011 hearing.

The recent revelation that a Texas BuyBoard allowed a vendor to draw bidding specifications that favored the vendor is a problem that has come to light in many states" Oliver said. Chapter 791 of the Government Code allows units of government to rely on pooled resources through cooperatives for the purchase of goods and certain services.  This is often a successful tool for school districts and other municpalities to rely on for economies of scale in their procurements. In the area of re-roofing and roofing repair however taxpayer watchdogs say anti-competitive practices at the co-op level are taking inter-local contracts far beyond their intended purpose possibly even adding costs to taxpayers.  House Bill 800 is a corrective measure to enhance open market principles and an effort to expand bidding transparency to lower costs involved in roofing materials and services thereby saving taxpayer dollars say the bills backers. Questioning during the March hearing from other committee members was equally clear in its tenor. While members support the intended principles of a BuyBoard the hearing publicly established that there is something wrong at this BuyBoard that needs correcting" said PRSCs Oliver adding It is sad is that government entities the BuyBoard represents are not aware of these exorbitant prices for roofing materials. HB 800 will correct this problem and protect elected leaders from any legal or political liability." The testimony of other witnesses at the bills public hearing was equally instructive calling for changes to allow school districts the flexibility to rely on Buy Board (administered by the Texas Association of School Boards) and other co-ops as their needs -- and the interest of the taxpayers -- dictate. Nonetheless says Oliver Texas taxpayers in school districts municipalities and counties have been taken advantage of by collusion between two or three unscrupulous firms and some purchasing officials. In some cases these sweetheart deals may be intentional fraud worthy of investigation by state officials. A case of bid rigging in Los Angeles County ended in one of these companies being punished and prompted the California corrective legislation" said Oliver. Some testified at the House of Representatives hearing in Austin concerning the practice of vendors writing bid specifications which appeared to be exclusionary in nature and burdening taxpayers with greater costs than would have been incurred had the Buy Board practice not been in place. Said Rep. Anderson of his bill House Bill 800 This reflects the concerns of school districts who -- once again -- deserve the flexibility in this limited revenue environment to rely on a convenient turnkey source for certain services.  But it also reflects the concerns of taxpayers supporters of transparency and free market competition that certain aspects of public-sector procurement be done at arms length." It is unfortunate that many elected officials dont know these scams are being done in their name and may make them liable in any official actions" said PRSCs Oliver. This conflict of interest has gone on for a long time and has cost Texas taxpayers millions of dollars in hidden costs for roofing materials" Oliver said. While involving tens-of-millions of taxpayer-funded contract dollars surprisingly few Texans know about understand or have heard of the BuyBoard Anderson said.