Ziffer Asks for Miller Family Related Contract Decision to be Reconsidered

At the last city commission meeting, elected officials voted in favor of a bid protest lodged by a city vendor (DPB & Associates) with family connections to City Commissioner Nancy Miler.

The 4-0 vote – Miller abstained – came after a prolonged bid protest process that was denied at each turn until presented to the City Commission.

The bid protest argued that  reporting by Tallahassee Reports about potential conflicts of interest related to DPB & Associates had biased decisions made by city staff.

The city commission vote went against findings by the city attorney’s office and required staff to re-bid the contract.

However, the top ranked firm, Genesis, has subsequently sent a letter to the Mayor and City Commissioners seeking a reconsideration of the decision.

The letter, in part, states:

“The apparent conflict or appearance of conflict generated by a familial relationship between a department director and a firm who was reasonably expected to participate in the process, DPB & Associates, LLC (“DPB”) warranted the slight deviation from the procurement manual. The slight deviation included a substitution for the department director and his direct reports from the RFP evaluation committee.”

Following the letter, on March 13, City Commissioner Gill Ziffer sent a letter to Acting City Manager Reese Goad requesting the vote to be reconsidered.

Ziffer wrote, “As part of the being on the majority side I’m requesting this item be brought back for discussion on 3/21/18. Please advise if this is possible.”

The agenda for the March 21st, 2018 city commission meeting includes the issue.

This latest turn of events continues a controversy that was first reported by Tallahassee Reports in June 2017.

  City Commissioner Gil Ziffer, City Commissioner Nancy Miller, DPB & Associates