Like many bloggers, I blog in a stolen five minutes here, a morning off there. On the afternoon of May 18th I found this rather strange RFP on Karen Weldin Stewart’s web site.
Not knowing much about the state RFP process – but knowing that we are having a bit of a budget crisis in this state, I observed, “I thought (KWS) was being paid to run the Insurance Commissioner’s Office. I must have been wrong about that though since they are sending out an RFP asking for a “management consultant” to …you know…consult…”
The DOI anticipates that, after conducting interviews, it will select a firm to evaluate the DOI’s management efficiencies and weaknesses.
The RFP was such a vacuous muddle that it looked to many as if it was not an honest request for bidders, but a cover for some insider money transfer. I expressed that sentiment to the contact listed on the bid, Michael Gould, Esquire.
If the purpose of the RFP, however, is to allow connected insiders to wax eloquent about their consulting prowess we could certainly do that.
Unfortunately, that bloggy snark was misplaced because as people looked at the steaming piece of shit RFP, a great many significant questions were raised. Among them:
- Given that there is a moratorium on new consulting contracts with the State of Delaware during the Budget crisis, is there any possibility that award of this contract could be affected by this moratorium?
- How could any bidder form price or staff this proposal without a detailed Scope of Work for this project?
- How could the DOI be ready to interview and negotiate a contract 24 hours after receipt of the proposals?
Michael Gould Esquire did not respond. However, on May 20th Elliot Jacobson responded, Not with answers to any of the questions, but pre-qualification questions and with an irrelevant talking point which he has since repeated like a mantra.
Not a red cent of taxpayer money is used for anything related to the Department of Insurance. In short the Department is self funded.
I followed up on my initial email to Michael Gould Esquire and, he responded to that second email basically telling me to fuck off:
No doubt you are aware of the State’s current financial situation. As a taxpayer, you can appreciate that it would be a wasteful misuse of State resources to answer questions raised by a party that has no interest in responding to the RFP.
I didn’t post Michael Gould Esquire’s flat refusal to respond to questions about the sketchy RFP, but instead posted Elliot’s nearly simultaneous email. It was classy.
From: “Elliott Jacobson”
Date: May 21, 2009 10:29:28 PM EDT
To: “‘Jason33″
Subject: RE: RFPWhose water are you carrying?
Apparently I have some axe to grind, when all along I thought I was just a guy who had the nerve to point out that KWS’s office put out a shitty RFP that looks for all the world like a Harris McDowell type insider money transfer.
So that is where is stands. The response(s) the to RFP will be opened today at some undisclosed time at some undisclosed location. Within 24 hours, the firm that the RFP was written for (perhaps the firm that wrote it?) will get the job and begin billing us.
What will they do for the money we will be paying them? We still don’t know. How much will they be raking in off this deal? It is any one’s guess. Will this transparent fraud catch the attention of anyone with the juice to put the brakes on it? That remains to be seen.
I know one thing. Keeping an eye on the shady cabal pulling the strings in the Insurance Commissioner’s Office will keep bloggers very busy over the next few years.