Gadfly said he would “evaporate” if Grubaugh and Huff obeyed the law

Back at it again today, Ernest O’Gaffney took issue with the commission’s position of not having to bid out certain services performed for the county: County counselor, CPA auditing firm and engineers. He contends that legal decisions saying professional services are exempt from the bidding only pertain to unique services that cannot be performed by anybody else.

“No bid contracts are illegal and could be held null and void,” he said. “There’s nothing unique about attorneys or engineers. This has been going on for years—what’s the problem? Obey the law—if you would do that I would evaporate.”

His promise to evaporate came after Treasurer Karen Matthews ask the commission for permission to grant accounting procedural changes regarding the Collector’s sales tax surplus fund—which they granted with a nod of approval from Auditor Sam Yarnell.
Yarnell said later in the afternoon that she’s always had the understanding that professional services were exempt from the bidding
process. The question may invite a definitive legal ruling—to which, O’Gaffney would say he has one.

O’Gaffney also raised the question again about the county needing a purchasing agent. Yarnell also said the audit’s mention of inadequate purchasing and biding practices were answered when the county bid out office supplies this year. Yarnell said she agreed with Grubaugh that the county did not need a purchasing agent but Commissioner Bill Barnett disagrees and said he wants a purchasing agent but cannot act alone.

O’Gaffney revisited his request to get a copy of the contract with Great River Engineering, but no contract seems to exist. The engineering firm has worked with the county for years.

At this posting there is no word from the court on the Writ of Mandamus filed by O’Gaffney; and so far no word on whether there will be anymore fallout over “gravelgate.”

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Tags: bids, Christian County politics, O'Gaffney

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