New Orleans crime camera contract exposed
From Sunshine Review
9 October 2008 Problems continue to plague New Orleans' crime camera program. In a closed door meeting of the city council's Public Works committee, interim chief technology officer M. Harrison Boyd revealed that Ciber, Inc has been paid nearly $3 million this year to maintain the city's cameras. The only problem is that, according to Councilwoman Stacy Head, no such contract existed.[1]
Contents |
Letter to Nagin
Head, the only council member present at the meeting, sent Mayor Nagin a letter complaining about the deal. Nagin's chief administrative officer, Brenda Hatfield, responded, disputing the claim that no contract existed. She said Ciber had a contract beginning in 2005, which was extended to May 2009. This contract, she said, includes "digital surveillance" and other responsibilities.
However, Hatfield did say that Ciber and LSI Research, the city's main camera vendor, may have billed the city for some of the same services. In response to this, she said Boyd has been given the job of undertaking a "forensic audit and assessment of all operations, vendor and contractor relations, and finances" related to the technology department.[2]
The Numbers
In the meeting, Head reported Boyd as having stated Ciber had been paid $2.8 million this year. With the city's latest release of camera numbers being 213, that brings the average cost of maintenance per camera to $13,000.
Given the fact that the program has been constantly criticized and kept in the headlines, Head cannot figure out how such a large cost was kept from the public. In her letter she wrote, "To be honest, I feel like there has been a shell game played with funds utilized by the technology department."
Inspector General Robert Cerasoli said he is also puzzled by the deal. One of the major cases his office is looking into is the crime cameras. To that end, he requested every single paper related to the program, and none of them said anything about the deal with Ciber.
Nagin Administration
It turns out that Ciber has several close ties to the Nagin administration. Ciber had held the city's main technology contract for years, subcontracting most of the work out to Imagine Software. The principals of Imagine were all private sector employees under Greg Meffert, the first chief technology officer under Nagin. Mark Kurt, Meffert's successor, had also been a partner in Imagine. Six months after taking office, he left to go to work for Ciber.
Questioning the Mayor
The city council's Public Works committee has scheduled a special meeting to try and get answers from the Administration. The council had previously been told that LSI was the only company working on the cameras, which leaves many questions.[3]
References
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, City's crime camera contract exposed, September 26, 2008
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, City's crime camera contract exposed, September 26, 2008
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, City Council committee to question Nagin administration about overpayments for crime cameras, October 9, 2008
