Request for proposals move fails PC muster

A proposed ordinance requiring a request for proposals on professional services failed on a split vote of the St. Mary Parish Council Wednesday.
The ordinance introduced by Councilman Tim Tregle of Morgan City limited the requirement to accountants and auditors, solid waste collectors and mosquito abatement providers when annual expenses would exceed $10,000.
The council heard opposition remarks from local accounts. They also heard from St. Mary Industrial Group members who said they were in favor of the ordinance.
Tim Matte of the Pitts and Matte accounting firm that has performed auditing services for the parish council for many years pointed out that the ordinance excluded professional services by physicians, attorneys, architects, engineers and insurance providers.
He said aside from adding additional advertising costs to the parish, requiring RFPs would invite competition from accounting agencies located outside of St. Mary Parish. Since surrounding parishes do not have the same requirement, there would be an imbalanced playing field for St. Mary firms unable to compete in those parishes, he said.
“It singles us out like we need to be corrected or monitored,” said CPA Gerald Thibodeaux.
He said he agreed with Matte and added that the ordinance would be “a lot easier to swallow” if the $10,000 threshold was higher.
Guy Pitts of Pitts and Matte said the parish already has the authority to make RFPs and questioned if waste hauling and mosquito spraying even qualifies as professional services.
“It makes me mad that I’m put below toilet paper,” Pitts said. “Because if you spend 10 grand on me you have to put it out for proposals. You want to go out and buy a bunch of rolls of toilet paper, you can buy $30,000 worth of that and don’t even have to put on proposal.”
He added he felt the parish should “pick who’s best, pick who’s honest then negotiate a fair fee,” for professional services.
“We’re the only guys here,” said CPA Alan Taylor of the accountants in the room. “The garbage people … and the mosquito guys, they’re not here because they know they’re going to have to put their stuff out for proposals.”
Taylor added that if the purpose of the ordinance is to shed light on accounting and auditing service fees, “what better way to do that than with a statement in open meeting.”
He added that the cost of writing RFPs would pose a burden to the smaller boards under the parish as well as advertising costs.
“There’s wasted time and wasted costs,” he said.
SMIG members Greg Roussel and Bob Miller both endorsed the ordinance.
“We just want to run parish government like a business,” Roussel said.
He added that he thought the ordinance was “a little weak” because it did not require accepting the low bid.
“We just want to make this government the most effective it can be,” he said.
As a businessman, Miller said, “I don’t get jobs unless I bid on them.”
He added that he thought the ordinance would be better if it took in every service.
“The principle of what we’re trying to do is open and honest knowledge of what we’re bidding on and what we’re getting,” he said. “We just want the parish council to utilize our money, taxpayer money in a businesslike manner.”
Councilman Tregle provided the council with estimated auditing fees from parishes with about the same population sizes as St. Mary.
Those figures showed that auditing fees in St. Mary may run as much as $100,000 a year more than in those parishes.
Councilman Sterling Fryou pointed out, however, that those parishes do not have a golf course or solid waste landfill to include in accounting and auditing services.
Many of the council members agreed that the ordinance was exclusive.
“I may be an SOB, but I’m a SOB for everybody,” Councilman Albert Foulcard said.
Councilmen Tregle, David Hanagriff, Glen Hidalgo and Kevin Voisin offered the only votes in favor of the ordinance.
Voting against were Charles Middleton, Ken Singleton, Fryou, Foulcard and Logan Fromenthal. Councilmen Steve Bierhorst and Lionel Metz were absent.