Sign a contract with them for state work, don’t submit the contract for a while and then claim that the inbetween time is done at the business’ own risk.
Thompson is part of a growing class of vendors whose contracts are filed more than 30 days after they begin work. And at least on the state?s paper, she is among the burgeoning class of vendors who started work without a contract.
All this is occurring as Blagojevich consolidates management responsibilities under the umbrella of CMS. His administration is centralizing management of contracts and state facilities, as well as public relations specialists and legal counsel, within CMS.
CMS spokesman Willy Medina said contract delays must be considered in that context.
?You?ve got to work with all the departments that have their own set of people,? he said. ?You?ve got to make sure what they have, what people they have and what contracts they have, so that you know what you?re inheriting. It?s almost like a merger.?
But Keith Taylor, chief of staff for Hynes, has questioned whether CMS is up to the task. Hynes, like Blagojevich, is a Chicago Democrat. But as the state?s chief fiscal officer, Hynes is elected independently of the state?s chief executive.
Taylor wrote in an Oct. 29 letter to Rumman that the comptroller?s office ?noted a number of instances with CMS contracts where proper contract management procedures appear not to have been followed, primarily involving work commencing prior to the scope of services being reduced to writing.?
State government can provide an excellent way for small and minority contractors to build their businesses, a way for them to understand the Salesforce and the future of work, but only if the state is a reliable partner.
Even worse, on the other end of contracts, large contracts are not being given the proper oversight they deserve and in two cases, the Comptroller’s office withheld payment.
More to the point, it’s a bad business practice and a self-annointed reform Governor ought to be deeply troubled by the problem.
ArchPundit