Just prior to Monday's City Council meeting I was e-mailed the Boyken contract and several exhibits that went along with it. I was going to post them to my site late Monday night but a member of the City Council found a typo or two therefore I was going to allow the document to go final prior to my posting it. The City Attorney was very busy today working on the Alcohol Ordinance and therefore may not have had time to forward me the typo free documents. Because of this I am posting the documents I recieved just prior to the meeting.
Boyken Contract, Exhibit A and the proposed org chart are available on the links and the AJC article regarding the meetion is below.
By April Hunt of the AJC
Wed, Oct 29 2008
Dunwoody officials and their newly hired consultants are in a flurry of activity this week, racing to get services in place for the city’s start of operations on Dec. 1.
On Monday, the City Council approved a $575,000 contract with Boyken International, a management firm, to help with the candidate search and setup of Georgia’s newest city. Ads went up online and in newspapers this week for a police chief, city clerk and finance director.
And Mayor Ken Wright has called a special meeting for next Monday night to review his recommendations for city manager.
“We are excited to try to get moving forward,” Wright said. “It’s time for us to get running.”
Plans call for the city manager to select and hire a police chief.
The Boyken firm’s role, meanwhile, will be to hire interim finance and court consultants and recruit for key permanent posts: municipal court clerk, city clerk, administrative director, community development director, public works director and a code enforcement officer.
The Boyken contract is retroactive to Oct. 16 and calls for the city to pay the firm $275,000 through year’s end to help set up the city. The contract will be extended through April 30, unless the council votes to cancel it with a 15-day notice.
Company president Don Boyken said requests for proposals for administrative services, planning and public works will go out by Friday. They will be due by Nov. 17, when a city manager should be on the job to help cull candidates and conduct interviews.
Despite the fast track of activity, one councilman voted against hiring Boyken as a consultant. Councilman Tom Taylor referred to a proposal from CH2M Hill — a company that offered complete privatization of city services, except for police — as the better and quicker answer for the city.
CH2M Hill withdrew their proposal earlier this month after Boyken approached the city at the request of state Sen. Dan Weber, though some city officials said they are trying to get the private management company to reconsider bidding for some services.
“We had a valid proposal on the table, and we had a state legislator come in and disrupt that process,” Taylor said. “It cost us a month that we can’t get back.”
City officials remain locked in negotiations with DeKalb County to hash out paying for some services such as water and sewer and determining how the city will begin its own police operations.
The Boyken contract calls for a hiring process for officers and staff to be in place by March 1, with police operations to begin no later than April.
Tom Taylor should abstain from any official discussions regarding CH2M. His wife is a former employee of CH2M and proudly lists herself as a member of their alumni association on linkedIn (a business networking portal). It may be only the appearance of impropriety, but it is there nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is we had two options, just not at the same time. Given the recent legal and PR difficulties haunting CH2M and their questionable use of unqualified shills posing as consultants we are probably better off without them.
And if you want to complain about Senator Weber's disruptions why not go back to SB82, eh?
Fact is we dodged a bullet. Let's move forward.