Elorza Circumvented Board of Contract and Supply on New Speed Camera Contract, Say Council Members

Elorza Circumvented Board of Contract and Supply on New Speed Camera Contract, Say Council Members

Providence City Council members John Igliozzi and Jo-Ann Ryan called out the Elorza Administration for what they say was circumventing the Board of Contract and Supply on changes to the city's speed camera contract. 

As GoLocal reported previously, Elorza has close political ties to the State House lobbyist for Conduent, Inc., the company who owns and operates the traffic cameras that could potentially reap millions in revenue.

Tony Simon, who served as Elorza’s Chief of until July of 2016, now operates a political consulting firm and is a significant donor to top Democrats, and is a $5,000 a month lobbyist for Conduent at the Rhode Island State House. 

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Statement on "Unilateral Negotiations"

Majority Leader Igliozzi and Majority Whip Ryan released the following statement on Tuesday morning.

"Last week, during a Committee on Finance meeting, we learned that members of the Mayor’s Administration had unilaterally renegotiated the contract for the City’s school zone speed cameras with the vendor, Conduent Inc.  This action bypassed city purchasing laws and circumvented the public process.

As required by the City Charter, the contract should have gone to the Board of Contract and Supply and then before the City Council for public review and ratification.

Therefore, we have requested that the City’s Internal Auditor review the contract and process by which it navigated the system. We have also asked the City Solicitor to review this process as well, and ask that the Administration immediately send the contract to the Board of Contract and Supply and the City Council for a full review and rigorous vetting."

Council President David Salvatore flip-flopped on his position on speed cameras, initially supporting them, then after issues arose from their implementation, called for their review.