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MICHAEL SANDLERThe out-of-state communications firm faced too little competition - that is, none - overbilled the county, and should give back $300,000, the county auditor reports.
CLEARWATER - Pinellas County violated its own rules in awarding more than $7-million in contracts to a Washington, D.C., consultant without allowing other firms to compete, an audit released Friday said.
A county auditor found no written explanation why Conrod Associates Communications was the only firm county commissioners determined to be capable of the work. The jobs consisted of building partnerships and strategic communications programs over the past eight years for various county departments.
"Whenever you have a lack of competition, you open the door to potential favoritism and the potential for unreasonable prices," said Robert Melton, chief deputy director for the Pinellas Clerk of the Circuit Court's internal audit division.
"As a result of this situation, we cannot provide any assurances to the taxpayers that amounts paid were reasonable compared to the services received," Melton said.
The 43-page report closely matched the results of a St. Petersburg Times investigation published last month.
Among his findings, Melton questioned:
A $98-an-hour consulting fee David Conrod billed Pinellas.
A lack of detail in the invoices Conrod submitted.
A pattern of poor accountability on the part of county staff to monitor the contract.
Whether some of the work could have been accomplished for less money by the county's in-house public information staff.
In two cases, the auditor concluded that Conrod overbilled the county and has recommended he return more than $300,000. The audit also sharply criticized Assistant County Administrator Jake Stowers, who recommended the noncompetitive contract and signed off on most of the invoices.
The auditor found no evidence of fraud.
The Times found that the County Commission approved every no-bid contract unanimously, despite unanswered questions commissioners had about the work. Conrod charged his $98-per-hour fee for an average of more than 20 hours per work day, without specifying who was doing the work. This year the fee was increased to $125 per hour.
The Times also reported that Conrod paid to fly a half-dozen Native American schoolchildren from South Florida to Washington to participate in a workshop, and that he produced DVDs and videos touting the county's reclaimed water plant, including one featuring an animated talking toilet.
County Administrator Steve Spratt, who was hired in December 2001, said he would not have recommended the noncompetitive contracts. He has criticized the contracts as being too vague and broad.
Over the past year, Spratt has reduced spending on Conrod by hundreds of thousands of dollars and demanded Conrod provide more details with his invoices.
Spratt said the audit was fair, but he disagrees with the auditor's claim that county officials violated the county code by not allowing competing bids. Spratt said that was a judgment call made by the former administrator and purchasing director.
The county code requires written justification for not getting bids after a good faith review of potential contractors. But the purchasing department's more specific policy allows the administration to waive competitive bidding for contracts based on a judgment call, the county's purchasing director said Friday.
"It was an administrative decision to make this a noncompetitive," said Joe Lauro, the county's purchasing director. "The administration has a right to declare something noncompetitive."
Conrod, 45, could not be reached for comment Friday. He has said he felt county commissioners were satisfied with his work because they continued to renew his contract each year.
Conrod, a former public relations worker for Busch Gardens, won his first Pinellas contract in 1995, the year he launched his consulting firm. He was awarded a $30,000 contract for communications related to a pelican relocation project by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The next year, the Pinellas County Commission awarded Conrod a $50,000 contract that was doubled six months later.
From there, his business with Pinellas grew. Commissioners awarded Conrod more than $300,000 in 1997 and more than $400,000 in 1998. Then in 1999, the county approved a plan to pay Conrod nearly $3.7-million over three years, with an option to renew for another three years.
The nine-year total surpassed $7-million last fall.
His most notable project is an Environmental Distance Learning Web site that allows Pinellas students to view real time data from the county's environmental lands.
Another area of his work called for hiring subcontractors to build Web sites, produce videos and DVDs and publish brochures that promoted the county's history of protecting the environment and developing conservation programs.
The auditor analyzed one contract that paid subcontractors $113,800 to design and construct signs featuring photos of animals as part of a tour. The audit determined the county could have saved money having the county's staff do the work.
The audit noted the county paid $7,890 in licensing fees for eight photo images.
It also raised questions about why the county paid $42,404 for sign design and layouts, including $3,000 for "meetings" without any hours, dates or other description on the invoice.
Stowers, the assistant county administrator, had recommended the noncompetitive contract based on Conrod's long-term relationship with the county. Stowers also signed off on most of the invoices.
"There was a disconnect there," Melton said. "The assistant county administrator did not always appear to have adequate documentation that the products and services were received when he signed off on the invoices."
Stowers was on vacation Friday and could not be reached for comment. He has said Conrod provided intangible value by building partnerships and programs intended to shape a generation of future environmentalists.
Commissioners said they were not surprised by the audit's findings. Many have struggled in recent months to say what they got in return for the money and have become critical of the contract.
"I think it's a verification of what we suspected," Commissioner Bob Stewart said. "It was such a unique situation, and it wasn't handled the way it should have been. Hopefully, it's an aberration."
Commission Chairwoman Susan Latvala said Conrod's exclusive relationship with the county has ended.
"When it expires (this year), it will go out to bid," Latvala said.
- Michael Sandler can be reached at 445-4162 or sandler@sptimes.com