No-bid city contracts could be giving Berkeley a bad deal, audit finds

"Berkeley has awarded tens of millions of dollars in contracts that weren't subjected to a competitive bid process, according to a new report, which could lead to the city paying too much for goods and services, or create opportunities for corruption. The investigation by the office of City Auditor Jenny Wong found Berkeley often used non-competitive contracts in cases where it should have solicited for other bids, including in two deals for recycling services worth a combined $41.4 million, which are up for extensions soon."

"The auditors did not uncover evidence of misconduct by employees, nor did they identify any specific cases where Berkeley would have gotten a better deal if it had solicited bids from multiple prospective contractors. But the audit, released Thursday, called for an overhaul of what it described as outdated bureaucratic processes that contribute to the city's reliance on no-bid deals, noting that the competitive process can discourage favoritism and guard against waste and fraud."

"The city entered into 94 contracts, worth a total of $43 million, without documented competition in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the audit. That was during the tenure of Berkeley's previous city manager, Dee Williams-Ridley. Current City Manager Paul Buddenhagen broadly agreed with the audit's recommended changes, according to the report. Some are already being implemented for example, several city departments have begun using digital contract management software to approve agreements that, until recently, had to be printed out."

Berkeley used non-competitive procurement for many contracts, including two recycling agreements totaling $41.4 million that are up for extension, creating risks of higher costs and corruption. Ninety-four contracts worth about $43 million lacked documented competition in the 2024 fiscal year during the previous city manager's tenure. No evidence of employee misconduct was identified, and no specific cases showed competitive bidding would have yielded better deals. Current City Manager Paul Buddenhagen has broadly agreed to recommended changes, and several departments began using digital contract-management software to replace slow, hand-delivered approvals that often took more than a month.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org