MONTGOMERY — The battle over an unbid $13 million computer contract is beginning to have an impact on how other state contracts are awarded.
The Legislature’s Contract Review Committee either held up or had state agencies withdraw $1.4 million dollars in contracts that were on its agenda for approval Thursday.
Committee Chairman Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, said the contracts did not fit a new directive from Republican Gov. Bob Riley’s administration that purchases be competitively bid.
The Riley administration issued the directive last month after questions were raised about its approval of a $13 million computer contract without bids being sought. The company that got the contract, Paragon Source, had no business phone listing or Web site, but had done work for the state previously.
The contracts that were withdrawn or delayed Thursday could be redone and considered at next month’s meeting. Most described the vendors as “sole source.” That term is used by state officials to describe a company that is determined to provide a service no other firm can match, and it was used by the Riley administration when picking Paragon Source.
The Contract Review Committee sued Riley after he proceeded with the contract with Paragon Source. On Thursday, Holmes told Riley’s legal adviser, Ken Wallis, that the committee wanted more information about how the administration determined that the company was a “sole source” for the computer work.
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