Clean house

EDITOR'S NOTE: This version corrects the name of former Neighborhoods Department director Kattie Bond.

Nobody involved, including Mayor Mike Bell's administration, wants to talk about allegations of wrongdoing that swirl around a federally funded program administered by the City of Toledo. But multiple investigations -- some with federal involvement -- and new revelations about questionable dealings suggest it is time to clean house at the city Department of Neighborhoods.

That process began this week, with the firings of Neighborhoods Department director Kattie Bond and housing commissioner Mike Badik. But the administration has much more left to do.

Last November, The Blade reported that federally funded contracts awarded by the department to rehabilitate homes sometimes did not go to the lowest bidder, that sealed bids were opened without city officials present, and that contract documents were changed after they were opened. Contractors alleged cronyism, bid-rigging, and improper sharing of secret bid data.

Toledo City Council held a hearing and the Bell administration proposed changes to bid procedures and a 45-day review of the Neighborhoods Department. Further revelations prompted the city to begin a formal investigation and to suspend several department officials with pay.

But it didn't stop there. The Blade reported an incident of alleged criminal activity at a home renovated with taxpayer funds and administered by the city. Grecheri Harris was arrested in 2009 after she picked up a package of 55 pounds of marijuana delivered to a house being renovated by Harris Builders, of which she claims to be vice president.

Harris Builders is owned by Ms. Harris' father, a convicted felon once described by federal authorities as one of Toledo's largest drug dealers. It appears the elder Harris has been involved in at least seven rehabilitation projects, four of them after his daughter's arrest.

The Blade reported that Neighborhoods Department files on rehabilitation projects often were incomplete. On at least six projects, Harris seems to have been the contractor, even though he wasn't listed as such. Several companies that received contracts appear to have links with each other.

Taxpayers, and officials of the FBI and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, want to know: Who vets the independent contractors who seek city work paid for with federal dollars? What standards, if any, are they held to?

The development company for the project where the drug bust occurred was founded by a South Toledo minister. But neither the minister nor the company responded to questions about Harris' role in the company's projects.

Indeed, the only people talking publicly are the contractors who blew the whistle so loudly that city government could not ignore the questionable activities in the Neighborhoods Department. When city officials are talking, often it's to blame the previous administration.

But Mayor Bell has been in charge for two years. No matter when the abuses began, it is his administration's responsibility to correct them.

The investigations should conclude promptly, and their results should be made public. Transparency is the only way to persuade Toledoans that city officials and employees deserve their trust.