Firm Asks D.A. to Review Radio Contract Bidding Process : County: Florida company alleges selection is rigged to favor rival despite $6-million difference. Supervisors are scheduled to vote on matter Tuesday.

A Florida company has asked the district attorney’s office to review the company’s allegations that the selection process for an $80-million county law enforcement radio contract was rigged to favor a rival bidder.

The Harris Corp. stands to lose the large contract to Motorola Communications and Electronics Inc. when the Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday to award the bid. Harris officials acknowledged Friday that they have requested that prosecutors investigate whether the contract process had been compromised.

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi has declined comment on the matter.

County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider said Friday that he was not aware of the district attorney’s involvement and thought the Harris request for review should not delay a vote on the contract Tuesday.

The board is expected to award the contract to Motorola. The decision could cost the county and local cities at least $6 million more than the Harris bid.

“Based on what I know, this thing with Harris is sour grapes,” Schneider said.

Harris has accused county officials of leaking confidential documents about Harris’ contract proposal to the competing firm during the competitive selection process.

“Because of the serious and frequency of (contract procurement) inconsistencies, we took the unprecedented step of sharing our concerns with the district attorney’s office,” Harris’ senior manager R.C. Ford wrote in a letter to board Chairman Thomas F. Riley. “We assure you that Harris took this action with full appreciation of its serious and significant import.”

Motorola consultant Randy Smith, who earlier this week referred to the Harris claims as “manufactured bull,” could not be reached for comment late Friday.

The radio contract is one of the biggest in county history and is designed to improve police radio communications countywide during emergencies, such as Monday’s Northridge earthquake.

The board originally voted to award the contract to Harris on the condition that the company satisfy seven technical concerns. A county review team has since found that Harris failed to meet those standards.

In the letter to Riley, Ford said company officials met with the district attorney Wednesday. Although the letter did not reveal details of that meeting, Ford said that “it is our understanding that the district attorney is currently reviewing this entire matter.”

“Harris is deeply concerned that the board may take action detrimental to Orange County without benefit of all relevant information,” Ford wrote.

Last week, Ford outlined a number of alleged improprieties to the supervisors relating to the contract process.

Ford alleged that 25 pages containing 200 questions about the Harris proposal were transmitted by county staffers to Motorola in March, 1992. Ford said that at that time the questions would have provided Motorola with a “clear understanding” of the Harris plan.

Motorola’s Smith has acknowledged some questions regarding the Harris proposal were mistakenly faxed to Motorola by county staff. Smith said the questions were contained on one page and that county officials were immediately notified.

Harris has also alleged that a San Francisco-based consulting firm hired by the county to review the two proposals was not recognized as a specialist in public safety systems. The firm, C.S.I. Telecommunications, favored Motorola in its review.