‘Competitive’ Bidding Process Unfair

* At its Aug. 8 meeting, the Orange City Council parented an interesting concept of competitive bidding when it awarded its Fire Department the exclusive right to provide emergency transportation services to Orange citizens. The Orange municipal code mandates that the council “contract with licensees on a competitive basis for provisions of ambulance service in response to emergencies.”

Nevertheless, the council never publicly announced a formal [request for proposal] process through legal advertising and other means. How, then, would any private provider know to submit a proposal? Instead, the council held two closed study sessions in which the private-sector providers now serving Orange were given less than one hour to present counterproposals to Fire Chief David L. Rudat’s offer.

This, according to Mayor Joanne Coontz and Councilman Mark Murphy, represents an adequate “competitive bidding” process. Meanwhile, at the Aug. 8 meeting, Chief Rudat was accorded at least 40 total minutes to present his proposal and answer questions. The two private providers were given five minutes each. Thereafter, an exercise in moot public debate was undertaken as a matter of ceremony, since Mayor Coontz all but voiced her support of Chief Rudat’s plan in a prepared statement at the outset of the emergency transportation agenda item.

No wonder taxpayers have so much faith in their government.

BYRON DE ARAKAL

Costa Mesa