Last week, TBT published a follow-up investigation regarding a lucrative human resources consulting contract that was awarded by Manatee County Government to a politically connected individual whose company does not appear to have any relevant qualifications for such work. While little that the MCG or its board does these days manages to pass the smell test, this looks like one of the most brazen boondoggles yet.
Last August, a procurement agreement for a human resources assessment and other consulting services with Secure HR LLC was approved by Manatee County Commissioners as a consent agenda item, meaning it was not discussed before the public. Secure HR LLC is owned by Dennis Cooley, a friend and contributor to several Manatee County Commissioners and former Florida House of Representatives candidate.
Additionally, Cooley founded the Manatee Herald, a website that seems to exist primarily to promote propaganda favorable to county commissioners who have the seal of approval of the local developer cabal (he's since turned it over to Bob Spencer, another developer mouthpiece). Cooley's background seems to be primarily in employee leasing services and insurance, and he does not seem to have any experience with doing HR assessments and consulting, and certainly not for large enterprises or government entities.
This bright idea was initiated by a couple of commissioners who are friends with Cooley, but when a laughable proposal of $150,000 for two months of vague work that held the firm to zero deliverables was balked at by then-acting-county-administrator Lee Washington, an end around was needed. Not to worry, Courtney DePol and Charlie Bishop sprung into action once Washington was gone. Secure HR revised its proposal for less than $25,001 (the amount that would require an intent to award that might draw other bidders with actual qualifications, such as the massive HR firm the county already had a business relationship with).
It was then sole-sourced to Cooley’s LLC, despite the fact that the award did not meet the county’s own criteria for sole-sourcing, which former county attorney Bill Clague warned could be an issue when it was first brought up. You can read about it in more detail in a short column I wrote here or in the original investigative piece by TBT’s Dawn Kitterman, which can be found here.
What we learned last week is that the $18,750 consent agenda item has now ballooned into a contract worth $415,000 for 12 months of continuing consulting services on top of the $37,500 already paid to the company for Phase 1 and 2 of its “work.” You might not be surprised to learn that the total is slightly below the $500,000 threshold that can be approved administratively, meaning it does not have to go before the board or the public.
The county certainly had HR problems, but they were mostly related to top administrators and meddling board members punishing whistleblowers and other employees who voiced complaints and finding ways to eliminate employees who persistently failed to fall in line. It is no surprise that these same forces held the hand of an unqualified neophyte of an operation as it stumbled into an undeserved payday at the public's expense. The goal, it would seem, is not to improve HR, as commissioners told the public, but to keep it on a tighter leash.
The way I see it, this administration and its governing board have been good for exactly two things: doing the bidding of local developers and giving away the taxpayers’ money to those who have helped them gain and maintain their power to do so. Anyone on the inside who stands up to the corruption winds up getting kicked to the curb, only to be replaced by someone with no qualms about staying on-script, so long as there are promotions and raises to be had. The pillaging seems destined to continue until enough taxpayers get angry enough to vote them out of office or the feds finally step in and rescue our captured government.
Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. His 2016 short story collection, Casting Shadows, was recently reissued and is available here.
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Removetheplantburglar
ATTENTION MANATEE COUNTY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES!
DON’T LET THESE CROOKS TAKE AWAY YOUR YEARLY RAISES!
IT ONLY TAKES MORE THAN 50% TO FORM A UNION!
TIME TO STAND UP AND FORM A UNION BY EXPRESSING YOUR INTEREST AND COPY/PASTE THE LINK BELOW:
https://www.afscme.org/join/form-union
Saturday, March 23 Report this
Cat L
Hoping for the feds, personally. This is organized crime, regardless of the rules they adjust in order to make it easy for themselves to engage in these behaviors.
Sunday, March 24 Report this
Debann
Corruption CONTINUES...WAY TO GO MANATEE COUNTY...I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH Cat L...Bring in the FEDS
Sunday, March 24 Report this
rjckeuka4
Bring in the FEDS!!!??? You'll be accused of weaponizing!!! Isn't that the "go to" line on such moves? Bring in the VOTES!! That's the only way to fix the mess.
Sunday, March 24 Report this
Islandman
Whoa, when has the Federal Government ever fixed anything?
Especially THIS Federal Government.
What the citizens of Manatee County REALLY need to do is VOTE EM’ OUT.!
Sunday, March 24 Report this
san.gander
Stealing the county blind!
Sunday, March 24 Report this
WTF
The fix was in. You can't make this **** up.
To end cronyism we must end government's ability to dole out favors and rig the market.
Charles Koch
Monday, March 25 Report this