Bobb's old firm gets big contract with DPS
Financial manager defends no-bid consulting deal

BY CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • August 11, 2009


Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager for the Detroit Public Schools, has given a no-bid consulting contract to a firm where he worked as a senior manager, a move that some say is a conflict of interest.
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Public Financial Management Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia, has a $972,000 contract with DPS to help create a deficit-elimination plan, plus budgeting and accounting systems. Of that amount, $450,000 is being paid by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

Bobb said he quit working part-time as a senior managing consultant for PFM prior to starting work at DPS and told Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who appointed him in January, that he intended to hire the company. The governor's office did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

On Monday, the company's Web site removed a page listing Bobb as the senior managing consultant for its Washington, D.C., office after a reporter called to inquire. Bobb's name and voice were heard on the answering service.

"I was in a rented office suite and therefore I can see where that office still hasn't changed. Obviously, I still shouldn't be on their Web site," Bobb said. "I don't see this as a conflict of interest. What it is, is a firm that has deep financial experience."

PFM has worked for Philadelphia's public schools; Nassau County, N.Y.; the City of New Orleans, and the State of Pennsylvania, according to its Web site.

School board members contend that the PFM contract illustrates the transparency problems with having a takeover that leaves one person in charge of the district's $1.2-billion budget. The board plans to file suit against Bobb this week in Wayne County Circuit Court in an effort to force Bobb to consult with the board before making financial decisions.

"Part of the problem with the statute behind the emergency financial manager is the types of disclosure requirements needed to maintain transparency simply don't exist," said board member Anthony Adams, a former general counsel for DPS.
http://freep.com/article/20090811/NE...tract-with-DPS



has a $972,000 contract with DPS to help create a deficit-elimination plan, plus budgeting and accounting systems.



Wouldn't it help to eliminate a deficit if you didn't blow $1M on figuring out how to do it?