By James Jimenez
Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor
In an effort to save taxpayers the cost of a new transportation headquarters and spearhead a quality, transit-based development, the state Department of Transportation did what Gov. Bill Richardson expects of state agencies: Be bold and innovative.
Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught, aided by the Transportation Commission, took on the challenge and came up with an ambitious plan. The state would lease valuable land in the heart of Santa Fe to a private developer in exchange for construction of a new transportation headquarters and transit stop for the Railrunner Express. The $400 million, privately-financed development would include retail and living space on the same site.
Public-private partnerships can be an effective way to accomplish these goals. However, it is clear from the Inspector General's review of this project that DOT did not have the expertise to carry out this partnership on its own.
As a result of those questions and others surrounding these projects, the governor took immediate action and ordered a review of the projects, including a review of the processes used to develop the projects.
The governor is satisfied that the Inspector General investigation was thorough and has helped uncover a number of problems that plagued this process, as well as recommendations to correct these problems.
But it is time to move beyond the blame game. The purpose of the Inspector General review was to find out exactly where mistakes were made and fix them.
Perhaps the biggest lesson learned from the review is the need to hire experts in public-private development to guide the state through this complex process. Clearly the goal is to develop an inclusive Request for Proposals that will result in a quality, cost-effective project.
Faught is already taking steps and instituting checks and balances to ensure that future procurement actions and decisions to hire contractors are reviewed by the appropriate supervisors.
For example, transportation officials provided confidential bid proposals to individuals they intended to hire. But those individuals were never under contract and did not sign confidentiality agreements, which compromised the integrity of the process.
In the future, an extra layer of oversight will exist for these decisions, and future members of the project-selection team will be required to attend training and a workshop on their responsibilities to adhere to department policies.
In addition, Richardson has directed a team, consisting of the secretaries of the departments of Finance and Administration, Transportation and General Services, to take the results of the Inspector General review and recommend to him whether and how to proceed with the redevelopment project.
In the meantime, the governor is satisfied that Secretary Faught has taken the appropriate responsibility for mistakes made during the course of the project and is taking the necessary steps to restore the public trust in the Department of Transportation.
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