Mayor Nagin has released a statement through his Communications Director Ceeon Quiett concerning a contract for 3-1-1 services provided to the New Orleans citizens. WWL-TV ran a news report concerning the cost and comparative services and two city councilwomen expressed extreme concern about the contract. WWL also discussed the issue with an expert who said the potential costs were substantially higher than a contract by the same company that was in effect in California.
Here is also the statement from the Mayor's office:
Official Statement from Director of Communications Ceeon Quiett
Yesterday's news report on the 311 program misrepresented how much the city is actually spending for these services. It is apparent from the report that the contract was misinterpreted and misread, which is negligent and unfair to our citizens, especially during this time of recovery. This is why we need to set the record straight:
1. The reporter contended that the City would spend $17.7 million over three years. In fact, the contract offered three tiers of services that include services other than 311. The City has a one-year contract (with options for renewals as needed) for tier-one service only, which provides a full range of 311 services. Unfortunately, the reporter took figures from a menu of services listed in a single clause in a section of the contract that was never implemented.
2. The 311 contract for 2007 states that the maximum sum payable to the Contractor under this Agreement is $3.2 million, the amount proposed and approved by City Council in the 2007 budget. That figure includes one-time costs for hardware and recurring costs for staffing and maintenance. By charter, the City cannot spend beyond the budget allocation.
3. Finally, the comparison to the Solano County, California call center was misleading and inaccurate. The news report led citizens to believe that our contracts were identical. However, the contractor, ACS, in a lengthy interview with the local media outlet, explained that the City of New Orleans "wanted a predictable, fixed cost." In Solano County the costs vary based on the number and length of calls received, which is more unpredictable.
In this post-Katrina New Orleans, we have made it our business to be prudent in our financial management. We have come back from the brink of bankruptcy, raised the city's investment rating, and have begun critical infrastructure repairs - all as a result of prudent fiscal management. Our citizens deserve the same thorough analysis in news reports.
