Mayor stops short of investigating how bids for rehab work are awarded

Toledo Mayor Mike Bell said tough economic times were heightening contractors' complaints about how the city awarded bids for city work.

Toledo Mayor Mike Bell said Tuesday he would look into what the city’s neighborhoods department can do better after a Blade investigation highlighted a number of irregularities and allegations of favoritism in the department’s federally funded housing rehabilitation programs.

But the mayor stopped short of calling for an investigation.

“Are there some things we can improve to make it better?” he said. “That’s all I’m concerned about. Complaints don’t necessarily mean somebody did something wrong. It just means that somebody might be upset. In an economy that’s similar to this, anybody that doesn’t get something, somebody’s going to be mad. That’s the way I look at it.”

The Blade’s investigation documented allegations of rigged bids, favoritism, and poor oversight in the neighborhoods department that awards millions of dollars every year in federal housing money.

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In some cases, contracts went to companies even though their bids were not the lowest. In other cases, contractors claimed that their sealed bids were provided to their competition and that city employees steered them to certain subcontractors.

Councilman Michael Collins, a former police detective and chairman of council’s Public Safety, Law and Criminal Justice Committee, said there needs to be a probe into the city's housing programs.

He criticized the mayor’s response and said he plans to call for an outside investigation.

“I believe the article in today’s paper creates reasonable suspicion that contracts have been inappropriately handled and the administration appears to be stonewalling a fair and impartial independent investigation of the business practices in our department of neighborhoods,” Mr. Collins said. “I will be considering this as a possible matter for my law and criminal justice committee.”

Contact Tony Cook at: acook@theblade.com or 419-724-6065.