BOSTON — The Inspector General on Wednesday shared concerns that favoritism may have influenced the selection of a MBTA police dispatch vendor.
In a report released Wednesday, Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro expressed concern that the MBTA could not demonstrate that its selection of a police dispatch vendor was conducted fairly, due to the authority’s chronic poor record-keeping.
“The need for clear, transparent and fair procedures for the selection of contractors by public entities is a bedrock principle. It is essential that the public have confidence in government when it conducts public procurements and expends the public’s money,” Shapiro said in a statement.
The report is a supplement to a statutory review of the 2017 MBTA contract with IXP Corp. to provide police dispatch services for the authority’s Transit Police Department, officials said.
The Office of the Inspector General’s Internal Special Audit Unit released its first report regarding the IXP Corp. contract on Dec. 23, 2022, officials said. At that time, the ISAU determined that it needed additional information from both the MBTA and IXP Corp. to properly evaluate the fairness and competitiveness of the MBTA’s procurement process.
“Based upon our investigation, significant concerns were raised regarding whether or not the selection process was fair; furthering that concern, the MBTA’s poor recordkeeping and records retention practices meant that the authority could not conclusively demonstrate that its selection of IXP was free from favoritism. That is not acceptable,” Shapiro said.
The Internal Special Audit Unit found that in 2016 the authority posted a Request for Proposal for police dispatch services on its own Business Center website, where companies interested in doing business with the MBTA can receive notification when new bid opportunities arise, officials said.
In this instance, while over 1,000 companies were notified of this Request for Proposal, few provided police dispatch services, officials said. The deadline for responses was extended three times and three companies, including IXP Corp., responded. Ultimately, however, the 2016 procurement did not result in a contract and the authority had to issue a revised Request for Proposal in 2017.
When the revised Request for Proposal was issued, it was posted on COMMBUYS, a public procurement website managed by the Commonwealth’s Operational Services Division, where companies interested in doing business with the Commonwealth can view open bids and can receive notification of bids in specific categories of goods and services, officials said.
In this instance, while 33 companies were notified of the procurement opportunity, including IXP Corp., the other two companies who had previously bid were not, state officials said. The deadline for response to the Request for Proposal was only 22 days long and ultimately only one company, IXP Corp., submitted a proposal.
“The MBTA did not complete or maintain records related to its evaluation of IXP’s response to the 2017 RFP and therefore could not demonstrate that the evaluation process was fair,” the Inspector General’s Office said in a statement. “Furthermore, communications between the Transit Police and IXP during the evaluation process raise significant concerns of a potential bias in favor of IXP. This raises troubling questions on two fronts – records management and impartiality.”
Shapiro said that recordkeeping and records retention “are basic functions of any business or organization. It is essential for a public entity to properly record and retain information concerning its decision-making on spending public funds (among other things).”
“This has been a chronic problem at the MBTA and has been documented at length in the OIG’s previous reports,” Shapiro said. “The OIG is pleased to have learned that concerted efforts are underway at the authority to address these issues. Nonetheless, the test will be how the MBTA conducts itself during future procurements and with future contract administration and how its actions align with the results from future oversight reviews.”
In his statement, Shapiro said he has “cautious optimism” in the new leadership at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the MBTA to remedy these issues for future procurements and redouble its efforts in reviewing the contract administration for active contracts across the MBTA.
In 2015, the Legislature eased the requirements to privatize services for the MBTA for a three-year period.
The law requires the Office of the Inspector General to conduct a review of the contract upon its completion.
In addition to Wednesday’s supplemental report, three reports have been issued on contracts for transit ambassadors, police dispatch services and absence management, officials said. There are four remaining open contracts for which the same review process is required.
Boston 25 reached out to the MBTA for comment on the Inspector General’s report.
In a statement, the MBTA said, “The MBTA appreciates the Inspector General’s latest supplemental report and thanks the office for its oversight on this matter. As we work to restore public confidence under new leadership, we are fully committed to transparency and accountability.”
“While we have not yet had the opportunity for a comprehensive review, we understand this report centers on the IXP contract awarded in 2017 and has identified potential areas for improving record-keeping and procurement processes moving forward,” the MBTA statement said. “As we continue working to strengthen MBTA operations overall, we remain committed to making appropriate changes that bolster accountability, integrity, and responsible stewardship of funding, including continued improvements in record-keeping protocols and expanded staff training around procurement best practices.”
“The public deserves assurance that every MBTA project and expenditure is fully compliant and in the public’s interest,” the MBTA statement said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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