MIAMI OCTOBER 30, 2019, —In the past we have alerted Miami Dade commissioners regarding the system how they receive, investigate and grant tenders, on many occasions they choose companies without proper credentials, just because they offer a economic proposal higher than the other participants, and in the end who are left with a “white elephant” in their hands is the Board of Commissioners in charge of the final vote for the approval of a certain contract.
We are studying several tenders that have been submitted for different concessions at the Miami International Airport and we really see that the same mistakes of the past are still being made.
There are several types of tenders some are called RFP (Request for Proposal) or an ITB (Invitation to Bid), and we have seen that current companies that have current contracts are required to respect the labor agreements imposed by the county, however New bidders are exempt from doing this, which gives them an advantage when giving their proposal, that is something unusual that must be corrected.
In the past we have denounced the lack of research to new bidders, mainly those who come from other states or from abroad, many lie in their presentations arguing about their experiences or their ability to operate. All this must be investigated before it is recommended to a certain company, especially if it comes from out of state.
Another problem lies in the selection of the various committees made up of officials who are unaware of the issue for which they have to vote.
We believe that if the committee receives a tender on a restaurant, there must be qualified members to vote on the subject, or if it is a tender on mechanics, they should be studied by officials who know mechanics.
The presence of local businesses is also not taken into account, which should have priority when recommended.
There have been cases of companies that, in order to obtain a contract, make offers that they cannot comply with, and then they are forced to request a discount, and the commission has no choice but to accept, however, if they were investigated first, they would not I would have to get to this point.
According to our investigations, the lobbyists are to blame for these absurdities, they recommend to their clients that they offer a lower or higher figure according to the contract that is, with the passage of the months, they can go against the commissioners and request the rebate, in most cases they get it.
One of these tenders that we are reviewing, we believe that the committee has given a wrong score, is for a millionaire contract that for more than 15 years the company that has it has done so with an impeccable record, with more than 100 employees. According to our investigation, the company that is competing is out of state and with a suspicious reputation.
We are investigating this and other tenders submitted at the Miami International Airport and in the coming days we will be giving more details and alerting the commissioners because at the end, they are the ones who receive the critics.
I have been working hard for my family at the airport for 19 years and when you work well they don’t care and look to replace you because of politics with people from outside miami. Please look into this unfair things that are going on.