re: #273 Targetpractice

Going back to NJ handling of Sandy damage waste hauling, there has been an ongoing issue over the no-bid contracts and how AshBritt calculated the costs to haul waste away from towns. AshBritt was the preferred option for the Governor, and some towns ended up using them and finding that they were costing far more than they should otherwise.

Federal investigators are questioning Christie administration officials over how they awarded a no-bid contract to a politically connected contractor to haul the mountains of debris left by Hurricane Sandy.

Initiated in May, the federal review followed weeks of intense public scrutiny over Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to award the Florida-based AshBritt Inc. a lucrative contract just days after Sandy struck. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had initially warned the administration that using a no-bid contract, especially over an extended period of time, could jeopardize federal reimbursements.

The investigation by the Office of Inspector General with the Department of Homeland Security was disclosed in a state comptroller’s report released Tuesday focusing on whether AshBritt overcharged eight shore towns. The report found the towns were mistakenly overcharged more than $300,000, but the errors were made by a group debris monitors, not AshBritt.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak confirmed that OIG had initiated an audit of the administration’s procurement process, but downplayed its importance, describing it as routine after disasters. He also noted that FEMA, which falls under Homeland Security, has stated publicly that it agreed the administration could move forward with the AshBritt contract.

Jared Moskowitz, a vice president with AshBritt, said last night the OIG audits “all disaster operations” and its inquiry in New Jersey was expected and not indicative of potential trouble.

The OIG does not discuss ongoing investigations. The office conducts thousands of investigations each year that often force towns to return federal dollars and, in some cases, result in arrests or indictments.

The Christie administration did not use AshBritt to clean up state roads, but the contract allowed municipalities, 53 in all, to hire the firm without bidding. Christie has said it gave towns devastated by Sandy speedy options to accelerate the recovery efforts. The OIG is investigating debris removal costs in at least two municipalities that employed AshBritt: Belmar and Beach Haven.

Taking the advice of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Christie awarded AshBritt a no-bid contract two days after Sandy struck last October. Barbour is a founding partner in the lobbying firm that has represented AshBritt’s interests in Washington for a number of years.

New Jersey piggybacked off a 2008 contract the company had with Connecticut. AshBritt also had a standing contract with Delaware with lower rates than the Connecticut contract, but company officials but company officials said they could not rely on the Delaware rates because of the cost of doing business is much higher in New Jersey.

FEMA strongly discourages the use of “piggybacked” contracts and subjects them to greater scrutiny.

AshBritt had the highest rates of four contractors who bid for contracted work.

And all that follows a Record investigation that showed AshBritt’s debris monitoring companies playing fast and loose with the mileage calculations that go into the costs for hauling away waste.