Lawmakers call for grand jury
investigation into county spending
by Andy Phelan
andy@dekalbchamp.com
Jones
Rader 
Keyes Fleming
Stogner
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Three DeKalb County commissioners are asking the District Attorney to conduct a criminal investigation into spending by CEO Vernon Jones’ administration.
Commissioner Jeff Rader drafted a letter he submited to DA Gwen Keyes Fleming and Superior Court Chief Judge Anne Workman asking the county’s top law enforcement officials to investigate millions of dollars paid mostly to information technology consultants since 2004 that violated county policy.
Fellow lawmakers Kathie Gannon and Elaine Boyer signed on to the letter. Commissioners Lee May, Connie Stokes, Larry Johnson and Burrell Ellis did not sign the letter.
Through spokesperson Jada Hudspeth, the DA said she is still reviewing all the documentation before deciding the next steps.
Fleming acknowledged she has spoken with some commssioners, but could not comment on an unsigned draft letter.
In the letter Rader said, “We sincerely hope that such an investigation will reveal no criminal activity in this sorry affair, but until such a conclusion is obtained by open and truthful inquiry, the public’s confidence in their county government cannot be ensured.”
Rader is following a recommendation made by a county grand jury in May, which also called for an investigation into the spending – naming the CEO’s Executive Assistant Richard Stogner in particular for his alleged “piecemeal” and “no-bid” purchasing practices.
Two separate audits – one by the county’s Finance Department in 2007 and the other by independent auditor KPMG at the request of the Board of Commissioners in 2008 – both concluded that the CEO’s administration violated county policy by paying millions to technology companies that should have either been competitively bid or gone to the board for approval.
According to the report by Finance Director Michael Bell’s office, more than $22 million was paid to 14 technology companies from 2004-2007 using methods that Bell and his employees called a “circumvention of the system.”
Among the most egregious findings by KPMG was that dozens of firms were paid millions of dollars over the value of their contract.
In just one case, KPMG determined that St. Paul, Minn.-based technology consulting firm EMA Inc., was paid more than $3.6 million but had just a $50,000 contract. In another, Scicom Infrastructure Services, also a technology firm, was paid more than $3.1 million on a $400,000 contract.
Many of the technology companies were paid in $49,000 increments, often packaged as greater amounts sometimes on the same day.
County policy states that all contracts more than $100,000 must first receive approval by the board. All contracts and purchases between $25,000 and $49,999 must get three bids. All contracts and purchases between $50,000 and $99,999 must be put out to RFP or requests for proposal.
A third audit conducted by the administration blamed the problem on an aggressive push for technology upgrades but concluded that millions spent circumventing proper protocols was not an attempt to avoid bidding.
While none of audits determined whether any laws were broken or if there was criminal intent, under law they could not go that far. Only with the backing of the DA could an auditor use subpoena powers to determine if there was criminal wrongdoing.
Rader hopes a special grand jury, which would have subpoena powers much like it did in the case of the 2006 police shootings case, could shed light on these and other questions.
“I don’t think this can be resolved without an investigation,” said Rader. “A criminal investigation is necessary to clear the air and to reestablish public confidence in the county government’s capacity to faithfully administer public resources.”
Commissioner Elaine Boyer said it’s time to have a higher power look more closely at the administration’s spending.
“This is not a witch hunt,” said Boyer. “It’s the ability to let the public in for a look. This is a way to clear the air.”
Stogner, who was named in the grand jury report, said that’s OK with him but the issue has been thoroughly vetted.
“We’ve had two major reviews by outside entities, and we’ve done all the things they said to fix the problems,” said Stogner. “But if the grand jury wants to look at this, that’s fine. We’ve got nothing to hide.”
In defending his actions, Stogner has said all along that the companies in question had state of federal government contracts and therefore did not need to be bid or brought to commissioners. He also contends that purchase orders constitute county contracts.
According to Commissioner Kathie Gannon, who supports the investigation, citizens calling for an investigation have inundated the DA’s office with calls and e-mails.
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